Kingdom Hearts: Reversed
by Brooser
Summary: Day after day, Sora, Riku and Kairi talk and dream of new places, new worlds beyond their islands. One stormy night, a terrible darkness invades the Destiny Islands...and through it all, the Keyblade Master emerges. His name...is Riku.
1. Destiny Islands

((This is the story of Kingdom Hearts. It is as you remember it... the story begins on a place known as the Destiny Islands with three children: Sora, Riku, and Kairi. However, if you change one part of the story, everything that follows changes as well. One event leads to another; and like dominos, soon everything follows suit. The question is, what will change when that legendary weapon - the Keyblade - falls into different hands? The answer: everything. ))

* * *

**But don't be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all.**

Darkness rose up around his feet, engulfing him. He tried to struggle away, but was unable to. Suddenly everything was dark.

**So don't forget: You are the one who will open the door.**

**

* * *

**

Sora opened his eyes. Above him, he could see a sunny blue sky, white billowing clouds, and...the face of a red-haired girl leaning over him.

"Whoah!" he shouted, sitting up as quickly as possible. The girl burst out laughing, and he turned to her, blushing. "Gimme a break, Kairi..."

"Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here..."

Further down the beach, Riku could see the two talking. He smiled, then shifted the weight of the log he was carrying over his shoulder. Sora and Kairi...the two people who were the most important to him. Sora had been his best friend since they were little; Kairi had washed ashore one day. Though Riku asked her often, Kairi always insisted that she couldn't remember where she had come from. She was happy here, why worry about the past?

As Riku drew closer, he picked up the tail end of their conversation.

"...But you know... I wouldn't mind going to see it!"

So, they were talking about Kairi's hometown. Speak of the devil.

"I'd like to see it too... along with any other worlds out there!" Sora said with a bright smile. "I want to see 'em all!"

"So what're we waiting for?"

"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" Riku interjected, grinning. "So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft..."

He tossed the log to Sora, who tried to catch it but failed. Riku smirked, then turned to Kairi. "And you're just as lazy as he is!"

Kairi giggled. "So you noticed. Okay, we'll finish it together. I'll race you!"

"Huh?" Sora said, surprised.

Riku groaned. "What, are you kidding?" He had just walked all the way from the raft, he was in no mood to...

"Ready? Go!"

Riku and Sora exchanged glances, then jumped to their feet and dashed down the beach of their home, the Destiny Islands...

* * *

"So, can you gather the rest of the supplies? Sora, are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, I heard you..."

From the Paupu tree, Riku watched the two talking. He couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at the attention that Kairi was starting to give Sora. Sora and Riku had always been rivals; it made sense that it was no different when the competition was winning Kairi over. When she had first come to the island, they would do anything possible to try to impress her, to try to outdo the other in front of her; in the process the three friends had grown inseparable. And while Riku was beginning to notice that Sora and Kairi were spending a bit more time together as of late, there was no harm in continuing to try for her. After all, Riku was always the strongest, the fastest... why shouldn't Kairi choose him? That was why Riku was doing whatever he could to help her find her home world, so that she would be grateful to him and see his true worth. Besides, it was always the same old thing on this island. He needed to get away, to see new things... with Sora and Kairi by his side. Getting off of this island was the only way to do that.

* * *

Later, the three sat on the bent trunk of the Paupu tree, bathed in the red light of the sunset.

"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked, turning to Riku.

"Could be. We'll never know by staying here."

"But how far could a raft take us?"

"Who knows?" Riku was silent for a moment; he was well-aware that this was one of the weak points of his plan. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."

"So, suppose you get to another world," Kairi piped up. "What would you do there?"

"Well... I haven't really thought about it," Riku said, frowning. He sighed, then focused his attention at the sunset, so far off on the horizon. "It's just... I've always wondered why we're here, on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?" Riku grinned. Talk of other worlds always excited him. "And suppose there are other worlds... then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

Sora swung his legs up on the trunk, lying down. "I don't know."

Riku rolled his eyes, annoyed by Sora's indifference. "Exactly. That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go."

"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked quietly.

"Thanks to you," he said, smiling at her. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks."

"You're welcome..."

* * *

After a while, the three began to head home; their parents would get mad if they weren't home before nightfall. Kairi skipped ahead on the wooden pier; Riku and Sora lagged behind. Suddenly, Riku remembered the conversation he'd had with Sora a couple of days beforehand. Digging through his pocket, Riku extracted the yellow, star-shaped fruit.

"Sora," he called, then tossed it to him. "You wanted one, didn't you?"

"A paupu fruit..." Sora said in surprise.

"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what." He grinned, teasing Sora. "C'mon, I know you wanna try it..."

Sora turned bright red. "What are you talking..." he began, but was cut off as Riku began laughing. Sora threw the paupu fruit off the pier in irritation, then began to race Riku back to the dock where their rowboats were kept.

* * *

"So, what should we name the raft?" Sora asked the next morning.

Riku thought for a moment. "How about Highwind? What would you name it, Sora?"

"Me? Um... Excalibur!" Sora replied. There was a brief silence as the two boys considered how to resolve this disagreement.

"How about..."

"...the usual?" Sora asked, as Riku nodded in agreement. An obstacle course was usually the way arguments were settled between the two boys. This suited Riku fine, as he usually won.

"You guys at it again?" Kairi asked, approaching the two. "Alright, I'll be the judge. The usual rules apply..."

As Kairi walked away again, Sora turned to Riku. "If I win, I'm captain! And if you win..."

"I get to share the paupu fruit with Kairi," Riku replied quietly.

"Huh?"

"Deal? The winner gets to share a paupu with Kairi." This would be the quickest way to resolve the question of who had the right to court her. Riku had thought of it on the spot.

"Wha... wait a minute..."

"Okay, on my count!" Kairi shouted from down the beach. "On your mark, get set..."

Several minutes later, Riku had won.

"Alright, so the raft's name will be the Highwind," he said cheerfully. Sora looked annoyed. Riku hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "What? The paupu fruit thing? That was just a joke, Sora. Lighten up." Of course, it hadn't been a joke, but he didn't want to upset Sora. Riku was being stupid... there was no need to mess up their friendship over Kairi.

* * *

Later in the day, Riku sat by himself by the Paupu tree, his usual spot. Far off in the distance, Riku could see Sora and Kairi talking on the dock. They looked so happy together... Riku felt something tightening in his chest as he watched. Finally he forced himself to look away. It didn't matter... none of this would matter this time tomorrow. It was always the same old thing here. If he could only get away to another world, he could see new things, do new things, meet new people. The adventures that he, Sora, and Kairi always acted out when they were younger wouldn't be imaginary any more.

**So don't forget: You are the one who will open the door.**

The phrase kept circling around in his head from the dream he had the night before last. If anything, that dream was the only thing that made him feel certain that their plan tomorrow would be a success. They would reach other worlds...he could feel it.

After all, there was the door that he and Sora had found long ago in the Secret Place. Riku had been the only one to see the keyhole on that door. If he only had the key...

Jumping down from the tree, he began to walk to the docks.

* * *

At home, Riku was lying in his bed. He stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep - he was too excited about the upcoming day. Everything was ready... they had food, a raft... everything necessary to reach other worlds. As he thought over what they would do in other worlds, he began to drift into sleep.

In the distance, he heard the low rumbling of thunder.

"Sounds like a storm..." he mumbled, then suddenly snapped awake. He jumped to his feet and ran out to his balcony. Sure enough, in the distance he could see a strange dark storm forming over the island. "Hell no...the raft!"

Hurrying to get dressed, he ran out of the house, making his way through the sleepy town until he reached the beach. All of the childrens' boats were tied up, except for Kairi's.

_Kairi? Please don't tell me she tried to make it there all by herself_, Riku thought in a panic. He untied his own boat, then grabbed the oars and began to row from the mainland to the small island where they played. The closer he got, the more the wind picked up; his silver hair whipped about his face, and dark ocean waves rocked the boat. The curious thing was that there was no rain, only wind; and the only storm cloud seemed to be swirling with unnatural colors. The entire thing sent chills through him, but excited him at the same time.

As he reached the dock on the island, he was relieved to see that Kairi's boat was already tied up. Good, she had made it safely. As he tied up his own boat, he looked up and saw the red-head running towards him, visibly frightened.

"Riku! What's going on?" she said, having to shout over the sound of the wind and thunder.

"I don't know! Is the raft okay?"

"Yes," Kairi said. She looked around. "Sora isn't here yet, is he?"

"No, not yet. What's up with this storm?"

"I don't know," she said, drawing closer to Riku and shivering. "It doesn't seem natural...I'm scared."

Riku hugged her. "It's going to be fine, I promise."

Suddenly, the island shook. All at once, the shadows around them began to bend and contort, until some of them actually started to take physical form. Kairi muffled a scream as she clung to Riku's arm, and Riku looked at them in panic.

"What...what are...?"

"They were in my dream..." Riku said breathlessly. Pulling his wooden sword from his belt, he swung it at them, but the weapon did nothing but pass through them like air. One of the creatures jumped at Kairi, but Riku quickly stepped in front of her, receiving a scratch from the creature as payment.

"Dammit...we can't stay here," Riku said as Kairi began to cry in fear.

"What are we going to do?"

"G...go to the Secret Place! I think you'll be safe there," Riku said. "I'm going to try to figure out what's up with this storm!"

Kairi hesitated, then nodded and ran towards the Secret Place, dodging the strange shadow creatures on her way. Riku watched her, brow furrowed.

_This is bad...what the hell is going on?_

Riku looked up at the storm cloud; by now it was beginning to take the form of a strange dark orb.

_It's right over the Paupu island..._

Riku looked back down; the dark monsters were beginning to crowd around him. Running faster than he ever had, Riku leapt over the crowd of creatures and sped down the beach, making his way to the small island.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, for a hooded man had reached it first.

"Wh...who are you?" Riku demanded. "What's going on?"

"The door has opened." the figure said quietly. It sounded like a man.

"The door...?" Riku said in wonder. "You mean..."

"The way is opened. This world has been connected... tied to the darkness."

Riku gasped. "So...we can go to other worlds now?"

"If you embrace the darkness...it will be so."

Without another word, the man vanished in a swirl of darkness.

Riku stood motionless, struck by the man's words. He almost didn't notice Sora approaching.

"Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!"

"The door has opened..." Riku mumbled, as if in a trance.

"What?"

"The door has opened, Sora!" Riku said, turning to Sora in excitement. "Now we can go to the outside world!"

"What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku insisted. He stared up at the darkness. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us!" He clenched his fist. "I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

"Riku..." Sora said, looking afraid.

Riku held his hand out towards his best friend. As Sora reached for it, darkness swirled up around their feet.

_I'm not afraid of the darkness... I have to do this. For Sora...and for Kairi. Now we can escape..._

As Sora's hand drew closer, the darkness engulfed them more, until Riku could see nothing.

In his hand, Riku felt something solid, like a weapon. A single word rang out in his mind...

**Keyblade...Keyblade...**


	2. Another World?

As soon as the darkness cleared, Sora gasped. Riku had vanished without a trace. Sora looked down at his empty hand; he had been so close to reaching him, but now his best friend was gone. He clenched his fist. Even with Riku gone, there was still something he had to do.

_I've gotta find Kairi..._

Stepping away from the island, Sora scanned the area for signs of Kairi; the wind was getting worse, blowing sand across the beach and shaking the palm trees violently. What kind of storm was this? The island seemed almost like it was about to come apart. He suddenly caught sight of a white door in the distance, one that had definitely never been there before. It stood in front of the entrance to the Secret Place.

_Could Kairi be in there...?_

As soon as the thought came to mind, the shadows on the beach began to darken and take shape, suddenly solidifying into living creatures. Sora gasped, horrorstruck. What were these things? He nervously pulled his wooden sword from his belt loop and gave it a tentative swing, but it passed through the creatures without leaving a mark. The creatures tilted their heads, their glowing eyes considering him for a moment before pouncing in a flurry of claws. He managed to block their attacks with his sword, then pushed through them in a panic and ran towards the white door.

_I've gotta find Kairi! I've gotta get to her before these things do..._

_

* * *

_

Riku was surrounded by darkness.

He couldn't see or hear anything... nor did he seem to be standing on solid ground. The only sensation he was aware of was the solid object he held in his hand. It was probably just his imagination, but it seemed to be filling him with a faint warmth. His mind was a haze.

_Sora... Kairi... where are you guys? What happened to our home?_

He wasn't sure how much time passed... it could have been seconds, minutes, even days. All at once, however, he was aware that he was lying on hard ground, and that his ears were filled with the sound of rushing water. Groaning, he opened his eyes, then gasped.

_Wh...Where am I?_

Instead of the islands, he found himself on a small chunk of paved rock. There were waterfalls all around him...and the water was all rushing up. The platform he was on seemed to be floating in midair, and there were others just like it all around.

Scrambling to his feet, Riku frantically looked around.

"Kairi! Sora!"

He listened for a response, but the only sound was the crashing of the rising waterfalls. Crestfallen, Riku ran a hand through his silver hair. He suddenly remembered the object he had felt earlier, and quickly looked down; he was still unconsciously gripping it in his right hand. He held it up for inspection.

**Keyblade...** the word rang out in his mind, as clearly as before. Was that this thing's name? Certainly it seemed fitting... it appeared to be a gigantic key with a yellow handle. Despite being made of some kind of metal, it was surprisingly light. He gave it a few practice swings and was pleased to find that it was perfectly balanced; it felt almost like an extension of himself. With that settled, he set about to figure out where he was.

Clearly, he was nowhere near the Destiny Islands. Something swelled inside him as he realized exactly what that meant; his plan had succeeded, more or less. He was in another world.

Walking to the edge of the stone platform, he peered over the edge. The platform was floating above water; floating further above him were many similar platforms. Riku couldn't help but wonder where they had come from; from the paved stones he was standing on, he wondered if they had once been some sort of pathway. As he stood thinking about how the platforms were floating at all, he noticed for the first time that further in the distance there was a castle.

It was a strange castle to say the least; unlike the magnificent spectacles of architecture he had seen in books at the library, this castle seemed almost as if it had been pieced together with parts that didn't belong with one another. White stones met bronze pipes at every turn, and from these bronze pipes steam billowed freely. In some places he could see stained glass windows and ornate masonry, in others parts of the wall were completely destroyed. Broken towers and metallic objects were suspended from cranes; at the center of the castle's facade was a monumental emblem that looked something like a thorny heart. In spite of all of this, the castle was by far the grandest thing Riku had ever seen, and he felt drawn to it despite what it lacked in beauty.

All of a sudden, Riku felt the hair prickle on the back of his neck as he got the acute feeling that he was being watched. He looked around nervously, and suddenly became aware of a cloaked woman standing on a ledge far above him. He noticed her so suddenly that he felt certain that she hadn't been there before. Nevertheless, she was the only person he had seen so far.

"Ex...excuse me," he called, turning red as he became aware of the awkwardness of the situation. "Could you, uh, tell me where I am?"

He had difficulty seeing her from so far away, and he wondered if she had even heard him. As if reading his mind, the woman raised her arms, and with a swirl of her black cloak she vanished, reappearing just feet away from Riku on the platform in a burst of black and green flames. Riku took a step back in shock.

"How did you..."

"I am a sorceress," the woman said simply, nodding her head with a smile. "Does magic not exist in your world, child?"

Riku shook his head dumbly. The woman was very tall, which was made worse by the curved black horns on top of her head. She was wearing a long black cloak, and her skin was a vibrant shade of green; she clutched a staff in her claw-like hand, and a crow was perched smugly on her shoulder.

"That is a very nice weapon you hold in your possession," the sorceress said suddenly, and he realized that he had been staring at her. "What do you call it?"

"It, er... it's a Keyblade," Riku said, recalling the name that had appeared inexplicably in his head. He suddenly noticed an odd gleam in the woman's eyes, and he gripped the Keyblade more tightly. She was giving off a weird vibe; he didn't trust her. "Who are you?"

"Of course, of course," the woman said, nodding. She smiled, arching her eyebrows in an arrogant sort of way, and he could tell that she had difficulty feigning politeness. "Where are my manners? My name is Maleficent... yourself?"

"I'm Riku," he said awkwardly. "You never answered my first question."

"Ah, you mean about this world? You find yourself in Hollow Bastion. It is my home."

"World? You mean, you already know about other worlds?" Riku asked, surprised.

"Of course. One such as myself who possesses a great store of knowledge knows quite a lot about other worlds. I have traveled between them quite frequently myself."

Riku didn't much care for Maleficent's inflated opinion of herself, but he pushed it aside in his mind. There were more important matters to attend to. "So, listen, have you seen a boy and a girl around anywhere? Both of them are about fourteen, the boy has spiky brown hair and the girl has short red hair..."

"I'm afraid you're the only child I've seen in quite some time," Maleficent said. "I know everything that happens in my castle as well, so it is quite unlikely that they are anywhere in this world."

Riku's shoulders fell. "You mean... they're gone...?"

Maleficent gave a scornful laugh. "Gone? I never said anything about that. Most likely they have simply been scattered to distant worlds."

"But then...you can take me, can't you?" Riku said hopefully. "You said yourself that you go between them all the time..."

"What reason would I have for doing that?" she said loftily. "After all, I hardly know who you are. You have done nothing for me... I have no debt to repay."

Riku gritted his teeth; he saw what she was getting at. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"

"It's quite simple. There are certain matters to which I must attend... and that strange weapon of yours would make them all the easier to attend to, I'm sure."

"And then...?"

"After you help me, I would be glad to help you find your friends."

Riku thought it over for a moment. While this witch hardly seemed a trustworthy companion, he had to admit that without her help there was no way for him to hunt down Sora and Kairi. He really had no choice.

"Fine... it's a deal," he said, as Maleficent held out her hand for him to shake. As he took it, a foreboding chill ran down his spine.

_What am I getting myself into...?_

_

* * *

_

Sora groaned, blinking groggily as he started to come to. Strange shapes danced through his blurred vision, and for a moment he thought he felt something wet on his face.

"What a dream..." he murmured, drifting back into sleep. At that moment something heavy and furry pounced on him, and he jolted awake. He found himself face to face with a big orange dog, and realized that the wet feeling was dog slobber. It was nighttime, and he was sitting in some kind of alleyway.

"This isn't a dream!" he said in astonishment. He stood up, then looked around. There was nothing like this city on the islands. "Where am I?" he asked aloud, then looked down at the dog. "Hey boy, do you know where we are?"

The dog merely raised an ear at some sound in the distance, then barked and happily bounded away.

"Hey..." Sora called after him, then suddenly felt very stupid for talking to a dog as if it understood what he was saying. In any case, sitting in some alleyway wouldn't get him anywhere. He walked a few paces, then gasped in astonishment as he emerged from the alley and found himself in a tranquil town square. A nearby street sign read "Traverse Town".

_This is totally weird... I'm in another world!_

He took a look around, totally unsure of what to do. Riku had never been very clear on what they were supposed to do when they actually reached another world...

* * *

"So...Riku, was it? Might I ask how you found your way here, to my world?" Maleficent asked. The two were walking through the grand castle corridors; Riku was busy taking it all in. He had never seen anything so marvelous, even if it was a little dark.

"Well, the world I'm from, the Destiny Islands... there was a storm last night, and all these weird creatures started appearing. There was some man there, and he said that the door had opened or something," Riku said. Now that it was all over, it seemed a ridiculous story; but the fact that he was in another world was proof that it was true. "The next thing I knew, everything went dark, and I wound up here."

"I see," Maleficent said thoughtfully. "Those creatures you mentioned; did they look anything like this?"

She lifted her staff; the next moment, several dark monsters, just like those from the island, appeared before them. Riku gasped, gripping his keyblade.

"Th...those are...!"

"There is no need to fear, child," Maleficent said. With a flick of her hand, the creatures had vanished once again. "As long as you are with me, the Heartless with cause you no harm."

"Heartless?" Riku asked, wary. He had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. If this woman controlled these monsters... did that mean that she was responsible for the attack on the islands?

"Yes. The Heartless are creatures born from the darkness in every heart. They have enormous power, capable of stealing away the hearts of men...and of worlds. They have no minds, but side with whoever holds the most power."

"So, these Heartless...you control them?" Riku asked, growing angry. "Does that mean you're the one who led them to attack my world?"

"Why on earth would I do something like that?" Maleficent laughed. "Don't be so quick to lose your temper, boy. The Heartless destroyed your world, but it was not under my command. The Heartless are a natural product of the world; they are attracted to hearts strengthened by darkness. They can cause great destruction, as you have seen; but in the right hands, the Heartless can be powerful tools and allies."

"I'm not about to trust the powers that destroyed my home," Riku said bluntly.

"Ah," Maleficent said in disappointment. "Forgive me...perhaps my task is too much to ask. I did not take you for one to fear the darkness."

"I'm not afraid of darkness," Riku said angrily. "I just...don't trust it. That's all."

"Is that so?" Maleficent said, giving a wry smile. "That seems quite a shame. You possess such great strength of heart, you know..."

"What? How can you know something like that?"

"Why, the weapon you hold in your hands is proof enough!" Maleficent said, nodding at the Keyblade. "The Keyblade is a legendary weapon, and chooses its wielder based on the strength of his or her heart. As the Keyblade Master, your heart is surely one of the strongest of all."

"Keyblade...Master?" Riku asked, astonished. Is that why the Keyblade chose him? Because his heart was so strong?

"But if you do not wish to side with myself and the Heartless," Maleficent continued with a sigh, "I'm sure you could find some other way to find your friends..."

"Wait," Riku said suddenly. He felt an odd sensation within his chest. "I...I'll help you. But just for Sora and Kairi."


	3. New Allies

After speaking to Cid, the owner of the Accessories shop, Sora was able to gather that Traverse Town was a world where people wound up when their home worlds were destroyed. That explained why Sora was here...so did that mean that Riku and Kairi could be somewhere in this town as well? He wandered the streets, searching for some sign of his friends.

Sora came to a door. A sign on it read "Second District".

_I haven't looked there yet_, Sora thought, and without a second thought he pushed it open and walked through.

"H...Help!" a man suddenly shouted, running towards him. Sora gasped and took a step back as the man fell at his feet. As the man's body disappeared, a glowing heart appeared and floated a few feet before turning into a strange dark monster. Several more began to appear, and Sora's eyes widened in horror.

_It's those creatures from the island!_

Sora uneasily pulled out his wooden sword and swung it at them; but just like before, it did no damage. He took a few steps back until he found himself at a ledge; there was nowhere else to go. The creatures drew closer, tilting their heads and wiggling their antennae. Sora squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face in fear.

_Riku... somebody... help!_

There was a slashing noise; Sora hesitantly opened his eyes. The creatures were gone.

"They'll come at you out of nowhere," a man said. He was holding a strange sword-like weapon with a gun's handle; he had shoulder-length brown hair and a scar on his face.

"Who are you?" Sora asked in astonishment.

"And they'll keep on coming at you if you aren't careful," the man continued, ignoring his question. "What the hell were you thinking, kid? Don't you know not to leave the first district? Everywhere else is swarming with Heartless."

"No, I don't know that. I'm kind of new to this world," Sora said, annoyed. "What are Heartless? Is that what those creatures are?"

"Leon, did you save him?" a black-haired girl asked, running towards them. She sighed with relief when she saw Sora. "Oh good, you made it in time. I thought those Heartless were going to get him for sure..."

"Why don't you start making sense! What's going on here?"

"The things that attacked you are Heartless...those without hearts," the man said gravely. "The darkness in people's hearts - that's what attracts them. And there is darkness within every heart."

* * *

"I don't understand," Riku said suddenly. "If there's darkness in every heart, then shouldn't Heartless be everywhere? Why haven't I heard of Heartless before now?"

"Your world has been isolated, I would assume," Maleficent said simply. "There are many worlds besides this castle and your island, but you had heard of none of them, correct? They were a secret because your world was not connected."

"But when it became connected to the other worlds, the Heartless came?"

"Precisely."

"That makes sense." Riku was silent for a moment; this was all so complicated, and he was having difficulty understanding everything. "Then, what caused my world to become connected?"

"Oh, there are many factors... a particularly dark heart, a strong desire to see other worlds, any number of other things. In your case, I would assume that it was because the Heartless were attracted to your heart."

"Hmm," Riku said quietly, not bothering to add that he had wanted to see other worlds as well. Did that make him partially responsible for the Heartless destroying his island?

"Fear not, boy," Maleficent said, misreading his silence. "You have nothing to fear from the Heartless. As I said, they side with whoever is strongest... and I see great potential in you."

"I'm just helping you until I find my friends," Riku reminded her bluntly. "After that, I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Wherever to? Your precious island is long gone, remember?" Maleficent said, giving a smug smile.

"Then my friends and I will travel the worlds together," Riku said stubbornly, "or seek out some way to restore our world. It can't be impossible."

"Whatever suits you best," Maleficent said loftily, coming to a halt before an ornate door. She pushed it open, revealing a spacious room. "Here you are... this chamber should serve you well as your quarters. It isn't being used."

"You mean this is going to be my room?" Riku asked in amazement, stepping inside. A king-sized bed and a wide desk stood in the center of the room, and the walls were lined with bookshelves.

"For as long as you choose to stay here at Hollow Bastion, yes," Maleficent said, not unkindly. "Though I realize that you would prefer for your visit to be brief..."

Riku looked around the room, taking it all in. He had to admit, it was very nice. It almost felt like home. He turned to Maleficent and gave a reluctant smile.

"Well... maybe not too brief."

* * *

Sora's rescuers, who he had later learned were named Leon and Yuffie, had agreed to let him stay in their room in the local hotel, at least until he was able to locate Riku and Kairi. Sora bounced up and down on the bed, listening to their conversation with interest. Most of it he didn't understand.

"I can't believe we have to babysit some kid," Leon muttered on the opposite side of the room.

"Squall, be nice!" Yuffie whispered reproachfully. "Poor Sora is completely lost without us! It's not everyday that your home world gets destroyed."

"It is in Traverse Town."

"And that's why we're here," Yuffie insisted. "You said yourself that it's our duty to help the castaways that come here."

"But we need to find the Key!" Leon shot back, and Sora could tell that Leon had forgotten that he was listening. "You read what the king said in his letter. We have to find the Keyblade Master soon, or else the worlds will keep on getting destroyed by the Heartless."

"Speaking of the king, Aerith says that his representatives are here," Yuffie said brightly.

"Really? Who are they?"

"They go by the names of Donald Duck and Goofy... apparently they're his Court Magician and the Captain of the Guard. Aerith is briefing them in the next room, actually."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Yuffie, let's go join Aerith."

"Hey, what about me?" Sora said angrily.

Leon sighed. "You've gotta be kidding me. Fine, you can come too..."

Pushing open the door adjoining the rooms, the three stepped through. Standing next to a woman in a pink dress, Sora was shocked to see a giant humanoid duck and dog-like creature. None of the other three humans seemed phased by this at all. Is this what people in some worlds looked like? He knew they would probably be different, but still...

"Oh, I'm so glad you could join us," the woman, presumably Aerith, said sweetly. "I was just informing our guests of the Heartless threat."

"I see," Leon said. He nodded to the king's representatives. "My name is Leon, and these two are Yuffie and, uh..."

"Sora," the boy piped up.

"Pleased to meetcha!" the dog-thing said pleasantly. "I'm Goofy, and this here's Donald!"

"Yeah yeah yeah," Donald said impatiently. "We were talking!"

"Oh, right," Aerith said apologetically. "As I was saying. Have you two heard of someone named Ansem?"

"Ansem?" Goofy repeated thoughtfully. It struck Sora that he didn't seem very sharp.

"He was studying the Heartless," Yuffie interjected. "He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report."

"Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?"

"It's pages are scattered everywhere," Aerith said sadly. "To many worlds."

"Oh, then maybe the king went to find them!" Donald said.

"Yes, that's what we were thinking."

Goofy clenched his fists. "We've gotta find him quick!"

"Wait! First, we need that 'key'!" Donald insisted.

"That's right," Yuffie said. "The Keyblade."

"Uh, excuse me," Sora said suddenly. "But, what's a 'keyblade'?"

"Who's this guy?" Donald asked in irritation.

"The Keyblade is a legendary weapon, one that chooses its master. It's the best way of defeating the Heartless, and our only hope," Leon said, ignoring Donald. "That's why we have to find the weilder of the Keyblade, before it's too late."

"So you guys haven't found 'im yet?" Goofy asked.

Leon shook his head. "Regretfully, no. If he-"

"Or she," Yuffie interjected.

"...Or she hasn't shown up yet, then I'm sure he or she will soon. I'd suggest sticking around; all travellers of worlds wind up in Traverse Town at some point."

Sora felt completely lost. Heartless, Keyblades, other worlds...he felt like he was dreaming. On top of that, he still had no idea where Kairi and Riku were.

"You mean we gotta wait here?" Goofy asked.

"Seems boring," Donald said grudgingly.

"Many people in this town are waiting. Waiting for friends, family... we all have something we've lost," Aerith said sadly.

"Like my friends, Riku and Kairi," Sora said quietly. Aerith nodded regretfully.

"Who knows? Maybe someone's lost family member will wind up being your key!" Yuffie said optimistically. "Why, even one of Sora's friends could be the Keyblade Master!"

Sora laughed. "Very funny, Yuffie..."

* * *

Riku was lying on his bed, holding up the Keyblade. This was all so much to take in. First his home was destroyed... now he had been entrusted with this huge responsibility.

_Why me? Why was I chosen?_ he asked himself.

_Because your heart is the strongest. Maleficent said so herself_, a voice in the back of his head said quietly.

Riku sighed. Was his heart really that strong? He supposed so... he had caused the door to his world to open simply by wishing it. Is that what Maleficent meant? Was he really the key?

He became aware of some muffled voices in the distance. Getting out of bed, he made the Keyblade disappear in a flash of light, a trick he had discovered earlier. He crept out of his bedroom and down the stone corridor, listening as the voices grew louder. Soon he found himself outside of a huge set of stone doors that were opened a crack. The room was dark, but he could see several sillhouettes standing in a circle.

"That little squirt is the Keyblade Master? Who'd have thought it?"

"The child's strength is not his own. Such is the power of the Keyblade."

"He could be a danger to us if we aren't careful. Why don't we turn him into a Heartless? That'll settle things quick enough!"

Riku's eyes widened. Were they talking about him? Was Maleficent's deal some kind of trap?

"Enough. The Keyblade has chosen him," said a voice he recognized as Maleficent's. "Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way, he could be quite useful. I have already agreed to help him find his friends if he offers us his aid."

"You're actually bargaining with some brat, Maleficent? That's so unlike you," a voice said smugly.

"I know what I'm doing, Ursula," Maleficent said reproachfully. "He has great strength, I can see it within him. And he insists that he does not fear the darkness. He could prove a useful ally."

As much as he didn't trust Maleficent, Riku was surprised to find that he almost felt happy that she considered him a strong ally. Well, he was the Keyblade Master after all. He smirked. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the title.

"Well, if we're done here, I'd like to return to Agrabah. The featherbrained Sultan will be wondering where his Grand Visier has gone to..." a voice said disdainfully. Riku's eyes widened and his mind raced as the group began to move to the door. There was no time to run, and there was nowhere nearby to hide. They'd know he was evesdropping if they found him, but where else could he-

"Well, whadda we have here?" a deep voice said, laughing loudly after the door swung open. Riku was shocked to see what looked like a giant living potato sack with eyes and a mouth. "Listening to our meeting, huh?"

"So this is the Keyblade Master. I told you he was a squirt," said a man with blue fire in the place of his hair.

"He does look rather strong though, I'll give him that," a large woman who was half-octopus said, giving Riku a wink. Riku shuddered. What on earth were all of these creatures? Is this what people in other worlds were like?

"It isn't polite to eavesdrop, my child," Maleficent said calmly.

"Oh, I wasn't, I uh-" Riku stammered, but she cut him off.

"If you wished to attend our meeting, you need only have asked. I had thought you were asleep."

"Er... sorry," Riku said, unsure of what to say.

"That's quite alright. While we're all here, we may as well have everyone introduce themselves..."

"I'm Ursula, sweetie," the octopus-woman said, holding out a tentacle for him to shake. "Charmed, I'm sure."

"Oogie Boogie of Halloweentown," said the creature he had first encountered.

"Hades, lord of the Underworld."

"Captain Hook..."

"And Jafar, soon to be Sultan of Agrabah."

"I'm Riku... Keyblade Master," Riku said. "It's, uh, nice to meet all of you. I think."

"I suppose he wouldn't be too ill-suited for our task," Jafar said thoughtfully. "After all, a bunch of Princesses aren't exactly a difficult conquest."

"Princesses?" Riku asked, surprised.

"Yes. And on that note, I believe our Keyblade Master is ready for his first mission," Maleficent said, giving Riku an odd smile.


	4. Wonderland and a Reunion

"I don't know. This just feels...wrong," Riku said uncertainly. He was perched in a tree limb overlooking a well-trimmed garden filled with heart-shaped topiaries and rose bushes.

"Nonsense. This girl is stranded in a world she has no place in. If we leave things as they are, she will be beheaded by the queen of this world. By taking her, we're really doing her an enormous favor," Maleficent said calmly. "Besides, once our plan has been brought to fruition, we will return Alice to her home world, safe and sound."

Riku was silent. He still wasn't sure if he trusted the sorceress, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"This is just for Sora and Kairi," Riku said stubbornly, more for his own benefit than Maleficent's.

"That's the spirit, my boy," she said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Now, pay close attention. The trial is starting. You could learn something."

A white rabbit ran to the top of a podium; it was clear that the trial had been waiting on him. Panting, he blew one long note on a trumpet.

"Court is now in session!"

The girl on the defendant's stand gasped. "I'm on trial? But why?" She had blonde hair, wore a blue dress with a white apron, and looked fairly young. Alice was her name, as Maleficent had told him on the way to Wonderland.

"Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" the white rabbit said, ignoring the girl's question.

"The girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it," the queen said from her throne. She smiled sadistically. "And the reason is... because I say so, that's why!"

"That is so unfair!" Alice insisted.

The queen gave a sickly sweet smile. "Well, have you anything to say in your defense?"

"Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so... so mean!"

The queen's fat face turned red with anger. "Silence! You dare defy me?" She drew herself up indignantly. "The court finds the defendant guilty as charged! For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart... off with her head!" The queen's guards, who Riku noticed were giant humanoid playing cards, began to march towards Alice.

"What do we do?" Riku whispered, but when he turned his head he saw that Maleficent had disappeared.

"No! No! Oh, please!" Alice was crying, and Riku gritted his teeth. He couldn't just let her be beheaded for a crime she hadn't committed...

"Hold it right there!" he shouted, and before he could stop himself he jumped down from the tree in front of the entire court. Everyone there looked at him in shock.

"Who are you? How dare you interfere with my court?" the queen said furiously.

"Get away from the girl!" Riku said, summoning his Keyblade in a flash of light. "She's innocent."

"Ha! You expect me to believe you?" the queen said haughtily. "Why, you've probably been plotting with her to steal my heart! If Alice isn't the culprit, then who is?"

Suddenly, the garden began to fill with Heartless. Alice screamed in horror and clutched Riku's arm tightly. Riku looked at them with worry; but something within him sensed that they would cause him no harm. Did Maleficent call them? In any case, he was safe as long as he had the Keyblade.

"These are the creatures who tried to take your heart... the Heartless!" he shouted, gaining confidence.

"That may be so," the queen said, suddenly grinning at Alice and Riku, "but you're still guilty! You simply told the Heartless to do the deed!"

"What? It wasn't us!" Alice said in shock.

"You were in trouble; and then the Heartless appeared to defend you," the queen said stubbornly. "We saw it just now; it looks perfectly clear to me. You were working together! They're all guilty! Off with their heads!"

"This is no good," Riku whispered to Alice. "She's not going to listen to reason; we'll have to make a run for it."

"But the cards...!"

At that moment, the Heartless began to pounce on the card guards. The cards started to flee in terror; several of them were turned into Heartless. In the confusion, Riku grabbed Alice's arm and rushed out of the garden.

"Seize them at once!" the queen shouted in fury, her hair coming undone from its bun in her anger. "Cards! After them! Off with their heads!"

Running out of the garden, Riku and Alice suddenly found themselves in a gigantic room. A massive table stood in the center; in fact, everything around them seemed enormous. Riku glanced behind them; none of the cards seemed to be following. They were probably far too distracted by the Heartless to chase after the two children.

"What on earth were those black things?" Alice asked, shivering. A few Heartless were wandering around the room, but they seemed to take no notice of the two.

"Heartless," Riku said grimly. "They steal people's hearts... I'm afraid that may be what happened to some of those guards back there. We should be safe though."

"Oh, how awful!" Alice said, covering her mouth. "My goodness! I didn't want to be beheaded, but I didn't want this either..."

"Yeah, me either," Riku said, silently cursing Maleficent. He blamed her fully for summoning those Heartless. In any case, standing around wouldn't get anything done. He took a long look around the room. "Hey...what's up with that big door?"

A large wooden door was situated on the wall; to Riku's surprise, the doorknob had a face, with a keyhole for its mouth. At this point, however, it was almost to be expected.

"What's all that racket next door?" he said, yawning widely. "How's a doorknob to get any sleep?"

"Excuse me sir," Alice said politely. "Could you tell us where you lead?"

"My door you mean? Oh, just the heart of this world. I have no idea where my key is however. If you'll excuse me, I'll be going back to sleep now..."

Suddenly, however, all of the Heartless in the room began to crawl towards the door. Several more materialized, moving towards the door as well.

"Goodness! What on earth are they after?"

"Well, Heartless feed on hearts," Riku said tensely. "Maybe they reacted to the doorknob saying that this is the heart of this world..."

"Oh my. I suppose the heart of an entire world would be like a full course meal to them!"

The Heartless began to crowd around the door, pushing against its sides. In response, the keyhole began to glow; and with a creak, the door swung open. Inside the door, all Riku could see was a deep darkness; but somewhere within the darkness, a light was shining.

"Is that what the heart of a world looks like?" Riku asked, astonished.

"It's...it's beautiful," Alice whispered.

Suddenly, hundreds of Heartless began to appear, swarming through the door and pushing the two aside. Alice gasped.

"What's going on?"

"The Heartless...they're trying to take this world's heart! We have to stop them!"

"Oh! Oh, this is wretched! What do we do?"

Riku slashed at the Heartless, destroying some of them with ease; but there were so many that it barely made a difference. Riku gritted his teeth in silence as he realized that there was nothing he could do to stop them.

"What will happen if the heart of this world is taken?" Alice asked after a moment.

"I think...I think it will be destroyed," Riku said grimly. He felt something heavy in the pit of his stomach. Was this Maleficent's doing as well?

Alice was silent for a moment.

"What should we do?"

Riku hesitated. He knew of the deal he had with Maleficent; but could he really kidnap this girl? As the ground began to shake, he knew he had no choice. He grabbed Alice's arm.

"Come on."

"What...? Where are you taking me?"

"Just come on," Riku said, gritting his teeth. "We've got to get away before this entire world comes apart. I've seen it happen, it isn't pretty."

"Well... all right," Alice said hesitantly, allowing Riku to lead the way.

* * *

"Excellent work, Riku," Maleficent said, smiling. They were back at Hollow Bastion. "I can see I've put my trust in the right person after all. Alice is here, safe and sound."

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Riku said hotly. "What was up with those Heartless attacking the guards? And the ones that stole the heart of that world! How could you do such a thing?"

"If you recall, those guards were about to cut off your heads for a crime that neither of you had committed," Maleficent said cooly. "I was saving your life; there's no need to be so ungrateful. As for the Heartless who unlocked the keyhole, those were outside of my command."

"You mean... you didn't instruct them to open the door?"

"Of course not. What reason would I have for doing so? Heartless feed on hearts, you know that much; they were drawn to the heart of Wonderland on their own. I was unable to prevent that."

Riku was silent. Despite Maleficent's explaination, something about this felt wrong somehow; he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"I suppose you've forgotten about our bargain?" Maleficent said after a moment.

"Oh! Right! You said you'd help me find Sora and Kairi!"

Maleficent nodded, smiling. "Yes, of course. While you were busy in Wonderland, I was able to locate one of your friends. Your friend Sora... he is currently in a world known as Traverse Town. I can take you there now, if you like."

* * *

Sora wandered around the plaza aimlessly. This was so boring; he wished he could go to other worlds and search for Riku and Kairi himself. When the three children had fantasized about travelling to distant worlds, sitting around by himself wasn't what he had in mind. Yuffie and Aerith were friendly enough, as was Goofy; but Donald always got mad when Sora hung around, complaining that he needed to find the "key" for his king. Leon was never very friendly either. Sora wished there was something he could do to help all of them, but as things were he was completely useless. If only he had something like the Keyblade...

Sora was brought out of his thoughts by a group of Heartless suddenly appearing from nowhere. He gasped; he had no way to defend himself. He knew he wasn't supposed to venture into the Third District by himself, and now he was going to be turned into a Heartless as punishment...

There was a flash of light, a slashing noise, and the Heartless were gone.

"There you are," Riku said with a grin, a strange key-like weapon over his shoulder. "What's going on?"

"Riku!" Sora shouted, overjoyed. He leapt forward, grabbing Riku's face, trying to make funny faces.

"Hey, hey, cut it out." Riku couldn't help but laugh, brushing him away; Sora could be such a little kid sometimes.

"I'm not dreaming this time, right?"

"I hope not. Took forever to find you," Riku said, not bothering to mention that it was Maleficent who had done the finding. He couldn't stop smiling; it was so good to see his friend again.

"Riku!" Sora said again, then suddenly stopped. "Wait a second, where's Kairi?"

"Isn't she with you?" Riku asked, disappointed. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island, too. We're finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now. We'll all be together again soon. Don't worry; just leave everything to me. I know this-"

"R...Riku! Behind you!"

Riku turned as a Heartless suddenly appeared behind him. With a quick slash of the Keyblade, it was gone.

"Whoah... thanks Sora."

"No problem. But Riku, what is that thing?" Sora asked in amazement, pointing at the Keyblade.

"What, this?" Riku held it up for Sora to see, feeling a touch of pride. "This is the legendary Keyblade. Turns out I'm the Keyblade Master."

"Wow! Can I hold it?"

"Catch." Riku tossed the Keyblade to Sora, who caught it clumsily. Sora inspected it closely.

"What does it do?"

"Unlocks things, obviously. And it can destroy the Heartless." Riku held up his hand, and in a flash of light the Keyblade had returned to its rightful owner.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Sora grabbed Riku's arm and began dragging him across the plaza. "There's people looking for you! Donald and Goofy and Leon... they want to find the Keyblade Master so they can defeat the Heartless!"

"H...hey, hold on," Riku said, pulling his arm away. "We've got more important things to do, Sora-"

"More important than stopping the Heartless?"

"-unless you forgot about Kairi entirely."

Sora fell silent. He seemed to be torn in his decision.

"You mean you know how to find her?"

"I've been receiving a little help," Riku said quietly. "That's how I found you, after all."

"Well, who is it?"

"That would be me," a voice said suddenly, and in a flash of green and black flames Maleficent had appeared before them. Sora jumped back, shocked.

"Sora, this is Maleficent," Riku said calmly. "She's on our side, don't worry."

"As Riku said, I can help you find your friend. I have enormous powers at my disposal for the task."

"So, what do you say, Sora?" Riku asked. He gave a faint smile. "Want to come with us? We can find Kairi together."

Sora looked from the horned green woman to Riku. While he was getting enormous bad vibes from Maleficent, he couldn't just leave Riku now that he had found him. He wanted to trust Riku, and yet there was something different about him. But what other choice did he have?

"O...okay," Sora said hesitantly. "I'll go."

"Great!" Riku said cheerfully. He held out his hand. "Come on, we'll go together."

Nodding, Sora took his hand. In a swirl of darkness the three disappeared.


	5. Agrabah and a Betrayal

"What drew the Heartless to that world?" Jafar asked. They were all gathered around a stone table, on which the image of a jungle-covered world was shown. Apparently, it had been destroyed by the Heartless after they located the keyhole.

"The hunter lured them there. It was his lust for power that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good."

Oogie Boogie laughed. "Yeah, he got chomped instead!"

"A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless," Jafar said with a scoff.

"Who cares?" Ursula said, laughing loudly as the image of the jungle world disappeared. "Our plan is going great. The Princesses are falling into our hands one by one..."

"I still don't understand why you need these Princesses at all," Riku said, arms crossed. The other five people in the room exchanged glances.

"All will be revealed in due time, child," Maleficent said cooly, placing a hand on Riku's shoulder. "For now, we have our bargain, correct? You help us collect the Princesses, and we help you find your friend."

"I know, I know," Riku said reluctantly, shrugging her hand off. He still had misgivings about this entire situation. He wasn't stupid; it was obvious that this crowd was up to no good. Still, Maleficent was his best bet in helping him find Kairi; and until then, she was helping him grow stronger. He was already learning many new abilities, with a little help from the power of darkness.

"Hey, where's that codfish Hades?" Captain Hook asked suddenly, shaking his hook in the air. "Isn't this meeting supposed to be mandatory?"

"Hades had some unfinished business at the Olympus Coliseum," Maleficent informed him. "Something about eliminating his nemesis Hercules. However, if all went well, he should be attending next time."

"I don't see why he gets to miss meetings and we don't," Oogie Boogie grumbled. "There's plenty of things I'd like to get done in Halloween Town, too, like taking-"

"Are we quite finished here?" Jafar said, casting an irritated glance at Oogie Boogie. "I have some urgent business back in Agrabah."

"Yes, I believe so," Maleficent said with a nod. "However, Jafar? I'd like to have a word with you in private, if you would be so kind. The rest of you are dismissed."

* * *

"Oh, you're back!" Sora said, hopping off of the bed as soon as Riku came into the room. "How was the meeting?"

"Not that interesting, really," Riku said, yawning. He grinned and gave Sora a light punch on the shoulder. "Sorry you couldn't come with me; I guess Maleficent just trusts me more, being the Keyblade Master and all."

"Well, you don't sound too upset about it," Sora said quietly. Riku gave him a weird look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nevermind." Sora attempted to smile, but Riku could tell that he was faking it. "So, did Maleficent find Kairi yet?"

"It's not that easy, stupid," Riku said, rolling his eyes. "We have to help her first... you can't expect her to help us for no reason."

"Really? But I help people for no reason all the time."

"That's because you're an idiot," Riku laughed.

"Shut up!" Sora said, but then laughed with him. For a moment, it almost felt like they were back on the islands, just talking and hanging out. The feeling soon passed, however. Sora sighed. "I wish Kairi were here."

"We'll find her soon," Riku said quietly. "I promise. Maleficent can do it, I know she can."

"Are you sure?" Sora said reluctantly.

"Positive. She found you, didn't she?"

"That's not what I mean. I don't know, Riku... I just have a bad feeling about those people. They don't seem like good guys."

"Well... maybe not." Riku sighed, sitting down on the bed. "But sometimes, Sora, you can't always side with the good guys. Not if you want to find what's important."

There was a knock on the door, and a moment later Maleficent and Jafar had entered Riku and Sora's room.

"Just the boy I was looking for," Maleficent said, giving Riku a smile. "I have found a need for your services once more. Our guest Sora may assist as well, if he would like."

"Oh! I wanna help!" Sora said brightly, but Riku stepped forward.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"It's much the same as your last quest; however, this time your target is a Princess by the name of Jasmine, in Agrabah. You will be assisting Jafar, as it is his home world. I trust that you will not fail us."

* * *

"So, this is Agrabah?" Sora said cheerfully, looking around the desert town. "It's so hot!"

"Yeah, no kidding," said Riku, who was beginning to regret having brought Sora along. Best friend or not, this was hardly his kind of work. "So, what should we do now?"

"Our biggest threat at the moment is that street rat, Aladdin," Jafar said in a voice dripping with disdain. "He's the one who allowed the princess to escape. Find him and get rid of him. After that, the other parts of our plan should fall into place. There are wanted posters scattered throughout the city, so identifying him should be fairly simple, even for you two."

"Right," Riku said, nodding. "Come on, Sora!"

"Things are going quite smoothly now that I've overthrown that pushover of a Sultan," Jafar said smugly as the two boys ran off down the narrow city streets.

"...And the Keyhole?" Maleficent said quietly, once Riku and Sora were out of earshot.

"The Heartless are searching for it now," Jafar said, nodding. "I'm certain we'll find it soon enough. So that just leaves..."

Suddenly, a brightly colored parrot flew down and perched on the man's shoulder.

"Jafar! I've looked everywhere for Jasmine. She's disappeared like magic."

"The girl is more trouble than she's worth," Jafar said with a scoff.

Maleficent raised an eyebrow. "You said you had things under control...?"

"Agrabah is full of holes for rats to hide in," Jafar said dismissively. He gave a tight-lipped smile. "But why worry about Princess Jasmine? With her or without her, surely this world will be ours when we find the Keyhole."

"We need all seven princesses of heart to open the final door. Any fewer is useless."

Jafar sighed. "Well, if the princess is that important, we'll find her." Lifting his cobra-headed staff, he summoned several Heartless and spoke to them. "Find Jasmine and bring her to me at once."

Maleficent watched this for a moment, then smiled. "Don't steep yourself in darkness too long. The Heartless consume the careless."

Jafar gave a scornful laugh. "Your concern is touching, but hardly necessary."

"As you wish," Maleficent said calmly. In a swirl of darkness, she was gone.

* * *

"So, I don't get it," Sora said after a while. "Why do we have to get rid of this Aladdin guy? Is he bad?"

Riku glanced back at Sora, then sighed. He knew full well that the younger boy wouldn't handle the truth very well. Riku, at least, was dedicated enough towards finding Kairi that he would do anything to reach her; Sora, being more immature, was a different story. So, not knowing what else to do, Riku decided to lie.

"Well, the thing is... Jafar is the Sultan of Agrabah, and his daughter is Princess Jasmine. But a man named Aladdin is trying to steal her away; that's why we have to stop him."

"Oh... that's horrible!"

"Yeah," Riku said quietly. "Horrible."

They continued searching throughout the city streets, but had no luck in finding Aladdin. None of the civilians had spotted him either; though from them they gathered that Aladdin had the reputation of a thief and a "street-rat", whatever that meant. In any case, they were no closer to finding him.

After awhile, Sora sighed. "Maybe he's not in the city..."

"Where else could he be? There's the desert, but I wouldn't think he'd be there. It's too open."

"We could at least look," Sora insisted. "Searching in the same place is doing us no good."

The two agreed, and had soon navigated their way out of the city. When they reached the city gates, the emerged onto a wide expanse of sand; far off in the distance, dark storm clouds were billowing.

"Hey, see that? I wonder what that is?"

"I dunno," Riku said, squinting out into the distance. "But it's probably a good place to look."

"How do we get there though? Crossing a desert this big on foot would take hours!"

Riku grinned. "Who says we have to cross it on foot?"

Lifting his hand to the sky, Riku clenched his fist, and it began to radiate an odd purplish aura. Soon, darkness began to swirl up around their feet.

"R...Riku! What's going on?"

"Don't worry, Sora. I'm the one doing it. Using this, we can just warp there in no time flat."

"But this is...darkness, isn't it? Isn't that supposed to be bad?"

"Only for the weak," Riku said flatly. "If you have a strong heart, darkness can be a powerful tool."

"Did Maleficent tell you that?" Sora asked quietly. Riku rolled his eyes.

"Just come on, Sora. Don't be such a wuss."

A moment later, Riku and Sora reappeared on the other side of the desert in a swirl of darkness. Sora was shivering.

"I didn't like that. I'll stick to walking, thanks..."

"Well, feel free to walk on the way back. Now, where are we?"

The two had come to a place with high stone cliffs on all sides. A huge tiger's head made of sand seemed to form the entrance to an enormous cave, with its mouth as the opening. In the center of the clearing, a man was sinking in quicksand, surrounded by Heartless.

"Whoah! It's the Heartless!" Sora said, readying the sword Maleficent had given him from the Hollow Bastion armory. Riku didn't bother summoning his Keyblade; he simply gave the Heartless a warning look, and they disappeared.

"Hey... thanks," said the man, who they recognized from the wanted posters. He pulled himself out of the quicksand and grinned at them. "I thought I was a goner for sure..."

"Don't thank us just yet, kidnapper!" Sora said angrily. "You're coming with us!"

"Kidnapper...? What are you talking about? I'm just-"

"Shut up," Riku said quickly, hitting Aladdin on the head with the Keyblade before he could ruin Riku's lie. Aladdin fell to the ground with a thump, unconscious.

"Good job, Riku," Sora said cheerfully. "Now we can take him to the proper authorities!"

"Er... that won't be necessary," Riku said. It was bad enough that he was helping Jafar, but that didn't mean he had to sign Aladdin's death warrant by bringing him to the ex-visier. "We were just supposed to stop Aladdin from kidnapping Jasmine, right? He can't do that if he's out cold; we've done our job."

"I guess..." Sora said reluctantly. He looked down at Aladdin, then bent down, picking up a metal object the man had dropped. "Hey, what's this?"

"I dunno. Looks like an oil lamp..." Riku took the lamp, inspecting it. "Maybe we should give it to Jafar? He might find it interesting."

* * *

"Excellent work, boy!" Jafar said excitedly, back in the throne room of the palace. He was inspecting the lamp with gleaming eyes; he was more excited than a child at Christmas. "This will make our plans go so much more smoothly. And the street-rat?"

"Aladdin, uh, got away," Riku said quickly before Sora could interject.

"Hmm... rather disappointing," Jafar said, giving Riku a piercing glance. "But no matter. You brought me the lamp, which is more than a job well done."

Sora tilted his head, peering closer at the object. "What's the big deal? It's just some lamp, isn't it?"

"This is no mere lamp, boy." Jafar held it up like some sacred treasure. "You see, whoever holds this ancient relic has the power to summon the legendary Genie of the Lamp! And with the Genie under my control, I can have whatever wish I desire..."

Jafar rubbed the side of the lamp, and a moment later blue smoke began to billow from it. Soon, the large blue genie had appeared.

"Heeeeey Al! You rang?" the genie said cheerfully, then did a double take. "...Huh? Wait, where's Al? What's up with stretch here?"

"You have a new master now, Genie," Jafar said, cackling. "I am Jafar, Sultan of Agrabah!"

"Hmm, that's a shame," Genie said, sighing. "I was getting kind of fond of that Aladdin kid."

"My first wish!" Jafar said, ignoring him. "Bring the Princess Jasmine here to me!"

"Well... if you say so. Just so you know, I'm not a big fan of kidnappings..."

Genie disappeared, then reappeared a moment later holding Jasmine. She was struggling to get free.

"Let go of me! I refuse to go back!"

"My dear princess, I'm afraid you've been unsuitable company far too long. That street rat Aladdin won't do, you see."

The Genie set Jasmine down before Jafar, who took her arm with a cruel smile. Jasmine glared at him, then struggled to get away.

"I don't care! I refuse to be with the man who exiled my father! Aladdin will save me, just wait and see!"

"What?" Sora said suddenly, looking to Riku. "I thought you said Jafar was her father? And that Aladdin was a bad guy who had kidnapped her?"

"Aladdin is a hero," Jasmine said hotly.

"Silence, princess." Jafar lifted his staff, causing magical shackles to appear on her wrists. "I apoligize for these conditions, but there's business I must attend to. Genie, my second wish: show me the Keyhole of this world!"

"Alright, alright," the Genie said reluctantly, and in a puff of blue smoke the five of them were instantly transported to some kind of cavern. Riku wondered for a moment if this was the cave they had seen earlier within the tiger's head. The Genie pointed listlessly at one of the stone walls, and the large ornate keyhole appeared.

"Excellent... all according to plan," Jafar said, cackling. "Soon all of Agrabah will be mine!"

* * *

Sora dragged Riku down the stone corridors of the Cave of Wonders, then turned to him angrily. "You lied to me! Why?"

"Sora, I... I did it to save Kairi," Riku said, turning red. "Maleficent made a deal with me, saying she'd help me find Kairi if I helped Jafar kidnap Jasmine. I had to lie to you or you wouldn't go along with it..."

"Yeah, because it's wrong!"

"Don't you care about saving Kairi?" Riku insisted angrily. "What's more important to you, Kairi or some girl we don't even know?"

"Kairi, but... this still isn't right!"

"Fine. You don't wanna help?" Riku said, temper rising. "Then go home. Go hang out with those new friends you made back in Traverse Town or whatever. I don't care."

"Riku, I didn't mean..."

"Go!"

Sora stared at his friend for a moment, fighting back angry tears. Finally he turned and began walking away, fists clenched.

"Yeah, go on. I don't need you," Riku said hotly. "I can do this by myself. I'm the Keyblade Master."

* * *

Riku walked back to the room containing the Keyhole, all kinds of emotions welling up within him. He hated going against Sora; but Kairi was more important. For now, Riku had a job to do. He took a look around the cavern; Jafar was busy doing something with the Keyhole, and many Heartless were gathered around.

"What are you doing?" Riku asked, trying to keep his mind off of Sora.

"Infusing the heart of this world with darkness. Soon, all of Agrabah will bow before me!"

"Sounds like a blast," Riku muttered, mind on other things. He noticed Jasmine lying unconscious on the stony ground; he knelt down next to her.

"I'm going to claim my end of the bargain now," he called over to Jafar, scooping up Jasmine in his arms. The man didn't even bother to look, but merely waved him away.

"Yes, yes. Take the girl, I have all I need."

Sighing, Riku looked down at Jasmine. She looked so innocent... and yet he was about to give her to Maleficent. He didn't even know what would happen to her. Is this really what he wanted? Was Kairi really worth all of this?

An image of Kairi playing on the beach with him appeared in his mind, and he knew the answer.

_Yes. Yes she is. I have to do this._

As if reading his mind, Maleficent suddenly appeared before him. She smiled as she saw Jasmine in his arms.

"Ah, I see you were successful in your mission. But, my dear child, what happened to your friend Sora?"

"He had some higher priorities," Riku said reluctantly.

"I see... what a shame. Well, shall we be going? I have a surprise for you back in Hollow Bastion..."


	6. The Sleeping Beauty

Later on, Riku, Maleficent, and Hades were gathered around the stone table at Hollow Bastion. Apparently, shortly after Riku had left, Aladdin had made a miraculous comeback, stopping Jafar's plans.

"That smarmy vizier could've had 'em... if someone had stuck around to give him a hand," Hades said, giving a pointed look at Riku.

Riku shot a glare at him. "Hey, I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I? Besides, how could I know that some peasant would stop Jafar? Everything seemed to be going smoothly."

Maleficent nodded. "Apparently Aladdin had some help... namely, your friend Sora."

Riku's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? But Sora's a wimp, how did he...?"

"I couldn't tell. Nevertheless, it's clear that we cannot afford to trust Sora any longer."

"Well, he's stuck on Agrabah anyway," Riku said reluctantly. "He can't do us any harm there."

"Ah, but you seem to be forgetting the Heartless. Now that the Keyhole has been exposed, it is only a matter of time before Agrabah is destroyed, and Sora with it."

"Really?" Riku said, suddenly filled with worry. Even if they were fighting, Riku didn't want Sora to be gone forever...

Seeing the fear on Riku's face, Maleficent smiled. "Fear not, child. As a favor to you, I have arranged to have Sora sent back to Traverse Town."

Riku's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Thank you... but, wait," he suddenly said, filled with suspicion. "Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?"

"Catch? What's the catch? Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy." Maleficent reached out to brush Riku's cheek tenderly, but he shoved her hand away.

"I seriously doubt that," Riku said darkly.

"Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain."

Hades nodded. "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."

"Huh?"

"We had a deal, yes? You helped us, and we grant you your wish..."

A moment later, the image of Kairi laying down, eyes closed, appeared on the table. Riku gasped and reached out to her, almost forgetting that it was just a hologram.

"Kairi!"

"Go to her. Your vessel is waiting," Maleficent said with a smile, as Captain Hook stepped into the room.

"Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage."

"Where is she?" Riku asked, turning to Maleficent.

"As it turns out... your friend Kairi wound up on my original world, and the world of one of the other princesses." She gave a dark smile. "However, thanks to me, I think you'll find it rather easy to retrieve her. You won't meet much resistance from the natives..."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Riku said, turning to Captain Hook. "Let's go."

* * *

The Heartless kept coming, and though Sora and Aladdin tried to stop them, they weren't able to do anything to prevent them from pouring into the Keyhole. Sora found that the weapon he had taken from Hollow Bastion had a moderate effect on the Heartless, but he knew that this would be far easier with the Keyblade.

"What do we do?" Sora asked, turning to Aladdin in desperation.

Aladdin hastily rubbed the lamp, summoning the Genie in a puff of blue smoke. "Genie! Can you stop these guys?"

"I'm afraid no can do, Al," the Genie said, reluctantly. "They've already started to steal away the heart of this world, and I can't stop them. There's nothing I can do."

"This sucks," Sora said, gritting his teeth. Was he just supposed to sit here and watch this world get destroyed like his island? Who was to say he'd even survive this time? Sora tried to push towards the Keyhole, but he suddenly felt his legs restricted. Looking down, he was shocked to see that a dark portal was opening up below him; it was just like the one Riku had used. Darkness swirled around his feet, constricting him.

"A...Aladdin!"

"Sora! What's going on? What's happening to you?"

Sora tried to answer as he struggled, but dark tendrils were beginning to wrap around his mouth; soon all he could see was darkness. As the sounds of Agrabah slowly faded away, Sora began to wonder if he had somehow died; but a moment later he could see again, and he realized that he was back in Traverse Town.

"What? How did I get back here?" he asked aloud, bewildered. He looked around; everything was as he had left it. He felt a pang of guilt as he wondered what would now happen to Aladdin. Would Agrabah be destroyed like his island had been? What would happen to Aladdin?

"There you are," a voice behind him suddenly said, "We were wondering where you went off to, Sora."

"Yuffie," Sora said quickly, turning to her. "I know who has the Keyblade!"

* * *

"Leon, I found Sora," Yuffie said, walking into the small building. "Apparently he's been off with the new Keyblade Master. Didn't bother to call or anything..."

"Wait, what?" Leon asked, eyes widening as he looked from Yuffie to Sora. "What do you mean? You found out who has the Keyblade?"

"Yeah... it's my friend Riku. I went with him to another world."

"Oh, what wonderful news!" Aerith said cheerfully. "We should tell Donald and Goofy!"

"Well, why didn't you tell him to come here? We need him!" Leon said in frustration.

"I... I don't think he'd be too willing to cooperate," Sora said reluctantly. "He's been doing some things..."

"...Things?"

"Yeah," Sora said. He sighed, looking down at his feet. "He was helping some woman named Maleficent, and he had started using the power of darkness. We got in a fight... I'm worried about him."

Looking back up at the three, Sora was surprised to see that they were all exchanging grim looks.

"Uh, guys? What's wrong?"

"Maleficent... I knew it," Yuffie said, sighing.

"She's been using the Heartless for years," Aerith said sadly.

"She's the reason this town is full of Heartless. Don't take her lightly," Leon said darkly. "We lost our world thanks to her."

"Nine years ago, a swarm of Heartless took over our world," Yuffie explained. "Luckily we were able to escape, but many weren't so lucky. Cid, the owner of the accessories shop, is from our world too."

"Our ruler was a wise man named Ansem. He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless. His report should tell us how to get rid of them."

"Where's this report?" Sora asked.

"We don't know," Yuffie said, shrugging. "It got scattered when our world was taken over. Maleficent probably has most of the pages..."

"I knew that Maleficent woman was up to no good," Sora said quietly, and Aerith nodded sympathetically.

"I'm sorry about your friend. Everything will turn out all right, you'll see..."

* * *

Riku stood at the bow of Captain Hook's pirate ship, watching the stars fly past in silence. He had always gone between worlds with Maleficent's help using the corridors of darkness, so this was his first time seeing the space between worlds. He had to admit, it was beautiful.

_Sora and Kairi would like to see this_, he thought sadly, then sighed. He had to stop thinking about Sora. Sora had betrayed him, not the other way around.

_Then why doesn't it feel that way?_

Riku shook his head to clear his mind. This was a stupid argument. Clearly Riku was in the right... he was just trying to help Kairi, how could that possibly be wrong? Sora just didn't agree on the method. But could Riku really blame him for that? This entire ordeal had taken enormous strength on Riku's part, something he knew Sora lacked. Riku couldn't blame Sora for being weak; not everyone was the Keyblade Master, after all. Riku gave a small smile; when all of this was over, maybe they could all make up and be friends again. After all, Riku was a forgiving person...

In the distance, Riku spotted a small orb that gradually got larger as they got closer to it. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned as Captain Hook approached.

"There's our destination. Get ready to land, boy. It looks like a dreary place if you ask me..."

Riku nodded, turning to look at the planet again.

_Soon, Kairi. Soon._

_

* * *

_

Riku's first impression of the world was that it was very dark; he could see where Maleficent had gotten her style. When he had disembarked from the pirate ship, he had found himself in a gloomy forest made up of trees with black, twisted trunks. Had the forest always been like that? Knowing Maleficent, he suspected that she had something to do with it. As he wandered through the woods, he wondered where Kairi could be. Maleficent said she couldn't spot her exact location; Kairi could be anywhere. He hoped that she had been able to find enough food to get by these past few days. She must be scared stiff; Riku hated that it had taken so long to find her. Excitement welled up within him as he felt the moment approaching when he would see her again...

Walking through the forest, he soon came to a break in the trees, and was shocked to see an elegant castle, covered in gigantic thorny vines. Those were almost certainly Maleficent's doing. Riku couldn't help but feel that Kairi was somewhere inside.

He crossed the bridge leading to the castle, slicing his way through the vines that were wrapped around the bridge. As he came to the tall front doors of the castle, he noticed two armed guards with rusty armor, fast asleep on either side of the door. Was this what Maleficent had meant when she said he'd have no trouble getting Kairi? Not wanting to waste any time, he pushed the doors open and went through.

Inside the castle it was deathly silent; the only sound was a faint snoring throughout the entire place. This was, as far as he could gather, because every person in the castle was asleep. Most of them were lying in the middle of the floor or slumped over tables; was this some kind of curse caused by Maleficent? Either way, it was no concern of his; he had to find Kairi quickly.

Stepping over the peacefully sleeping doorman, he passed through elaborate corridors and stairways, looking in every room as he searched for Kairi. Where could she be? As he searched, he found himself making his way higher and higher in the castle, until he came to a final staircase leading to a single wooden door. He went up the steps slowly and pushed open the door.

"K...Kairi!"

He ran to the bed where the girl was lying. He lifted her head up and tried to shake her awake; nothing worked. Was she under the same spell as the others in the castle? He felt for her pulse, but felt nothing. His face began to pale. No... she couldn't be dead. Relief suddenly washed over him as he realized that her chest moved with every breath she took; so she was definitely still alive. Then why wouldn't she wake up? Was she under the same curse as the others in this castle?

_No... if she were simply asleep, then she would at least have a heartrate._ Then what was wrong with her? She was breathing at least, but with no pulse, it was almost as if... she had no heart.

Riku turned pale once more. Was that the problem? Had she lost her heart?

He would have to ask Maleficent. She would know what to do.

Scooping her up delicately in her arms, he carried her out of the room and down the stairs as if holding a precious treasure.

* * *

"Back already?" Captain Hook said in a bored tone as Riku entered the cabin of the ship. He looked up from his papers, noticing Kairi for the first time. "Ah, found your little girlfriend I see?"

"She won't wake up," Riku said quietly. He laid her down gently on the cusioned seat next to the window.

"Hmm, that's a problem," Hook said quietly. "I can't say I've seen anything like that in all my years at sea. Have you any idea what the matter is, boy?"

"I think... she might have lost her heart," Riku said.

"Ah, sounds like the job of some stray Heartless. I wouldn't suppose there'd be a way to heal her..."

"There has to be something! You've sailed between worlds; can't you think of any strange cases having to do with the Heartless, or hearts?"

Captain Hook fell into thought, his hook tapping his chin thoughtfully. Finally he grinned.

"I can think of one. Recently, there have been rumors of a puppet who moves on its own; they say he has no strings, but he still runs around as lively as you or I. Sounds like a load of cod if you ask me, but you might at least look into it. Supposedly he's been eaten by that space whale, Monstro..."

"What, so I'm supposed to go inside some whale to find him?" Riku said with disgust.

"Well," Captain Hook said, turning to him. "do you have any better ideas?"

* * *

Riku shuddered as he stepped over something big, soft, and wet. In all his years, he had never once suspected that he would be going around inside a whale. Still, he would do anything if it meant saving Kairi.

Looking around, he finally managed to spot the puppet, playing around somewhere by the whale's tongue. So, he was real after all. Sure enough, the small wooden boy was running around like any real boy, playing some kind of game with himself. What allowed a puppet to do that, other than a heart? Could he be the key to saving Kairi from her slumber?

"Hello there," Riku said warmly, approaching the puppet. He bent down. "What's your name?"

"Oh... hi! I'm Pinocchio!" the puppet said, dropping the pieces of driftwood he had been playing with. "What's your name?"

"My name's Riku. Do you want to play a game?"

"Sure! I love games!"

"Okay," Riku said with a friendly smile. He needed to at least get Pinocchio away from his father before he took him. "Let's play tag. You're it!"

* * *

Riku ran throughout the whale's innards; after a while he was sure that he had lost Pinocchio. Maybe he had overdone it. He considered going back to find him when he heard voices in the distance.

"What are you doing? Come on, let's go back."

Riku's eyes widened. He would recognize Sora's voice anywhere, but what was he doing here? How had he left Traverse Town?

"You know, Geppetto's awfully worried about you," said another voice Riku didn't recognize.

"Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for games!"

Taking a deep breath, Riku walked into the room. There, he saw Sora and two animal-like creatures he had never seen before.

"But Sora, I thought you liked games," he said, smiling darkly. "Don't you want to play too?"

"It's the Keyblade Master!" the duck said in excitement, jumping up and down.

"Riku! Wh...what are you doing here?" Sora asked in shock.

"Just playing with Pinocchio."

"You know what I mean!" Sora said in frustration. "What about Kairi? Did you find her?"

Riku grinned. "Maybe. Catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know."

"Wait!"

Grabbing Pinocchio by the arm, Riku dashed away, going deeper into the depths of the whale.


	7. A Broken Friendship

Holding Pinocchio by the arm, Riku ran through the chambers of Monstro's insides. He had never been one for marine biology; and anyway, he didn't think they had ever dissected space whales at school. Pretty soon he felt himself getting lost; but at the very least, he had lost Sora and the two who were tagging along with him. He set down Pinocchio, who ran ahead of him, disappearing through another chamber.

There was a sudden burst of green and black flames, at which point Maleficent appeared before him.

"Maleficent. What are you doing here?"

"Captain Hook told me about your plight with Kairi. I was just going to stop by his ship to examine her, but I thought I'd check up on you first. I can't say I expected to see that boy Sora, however."

"Oh, yeah. Neither did I... he just kind of showed up. It's no problem though, I can deal with him."

"Why do you still care about that boy? He has all but abandoned you and Kairi."

"I don't care about him," Riku said reluctantly. "I was just messing with him a little."

"Oh, really? Of course you were," Maleficent said with a sarcastic smile. "Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it."

"Mind your own business," Riku said hotly.

"Very well. But need I remind you, Sora ruined our plans once before on Agrabah. He has proved to be more trouble than anticipated; do not let him do so again."

Riku hesitated, then nodded. Maleficent smiled and disappeared through a dark portal. The next moment, Sora and his companions caught up with him.

"Riku!" Sora shouted when he saw him. "What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora. Do you even want to save Kairi?" he asked darkly.

Sora glared at Riku. "Of course I do. But you're doing it all wrong! You're siding with the Heartless!"

At that moment, they both heard a roar, and a scream that sounded like Pinocchio. Sora and Riku exchanged glances, then ran through into the next chamber. There, they could see that a huge parasite-like Heartless had swallowed up Pinocchio, trapping him in its cage-like stomach. Riku turned to Sora.

"You up for this?"

"No problem. Let's do it!"

Riku rolled his eyes, the dashed forward, slashing at the Heartless with the Keyblade. Sora jabbed at it with his own sword, the one he had gotten from Hollow Bastion; Riku was surprised to see that he had gotten better since they had been on the islands.

"You're not doing too bad, Sora," Riku said reluctantly, slicing off one of the Heartless's tentacles.

"Thanks," Sora said with a small smile. "I've been practicing with a man named Leon in Traverse Town. He's taught me a lot."

"So that's it, huh? After abandoning me, you just find some new friends to replace me like these two here?"

"We're not his friends! We're just here for you!" the duck said angrily.

"Whatever," Riku said quietly, giving the Heartless a final stab. It vanished in a cloud of darkness, releasing its heart as all Heartless do, and dropping Pinocchio down a hole in the floor. Without hesitating, Riku jumped down after him, managing to catch him by the arm. He found that they had somehow wound up back in the whale's mouth. Pinocchio wasn't moving. It reminded him eerily of Kairi. Did that Heartless had something to do with this?

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio! Please give me back my son!" a voice suddenly said from below, and Riku scowled in irritation as he saw Pinocchio's "father", Geppetto.

"Sorry, old man. I have some unfinished business with this puppet."

"He's no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!"

Riku ignored him. "He is unusual. Not many puppets have had hearts. I'm not sure, but maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs." From behind, he heard the footsteps of Sora and his two companions.

"Wait a minute," Sora said. "Are you talking about Kairi?"

"What do you care about her?" Riku said sharply.

"What do you mean, 'what do I care about her'? I care about her more than anyone."

"Your actions say otherwise."

Sora shook his head, realizing that it was pointless to argue. He pointed at the puppet. "Let Pinocchio go, Riku."

"A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless. Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi," Riku said, ignoring Sora's request. He turned to him, holding out his hand. Here was Sora's last chance. "How about it, Sora? Let's join forces to save her. We can do it together."

To Riku's surprise, Sora unsheithed his sword instead. Riku's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.

"What? You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?"

"Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience," Sora said quietly.

Riku scoffed. "Conscience?"

"You might not hear it, but right now it's loud and clear. And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!"

Riku glared at him. After everything, Sora still refused to help him. Did he really care so little for Kairi? Riku could feel himself filling with rage; how could Sora be so... heartless? Something strange was happening in Riku's chest; his heart felt like it was clouding over. That request for him to help Riku had been Sora's last chance... and he blew it. That was it; no more playing around.

"Then you leave me no choice."

Riku ran forward, slashing at Sora with the Keyblade; Sora gasped and lifted his sword to block it, but instead the weapon was knocked out of his hand. Riku backed Sora into a wall, pointing the Keyblade at his chest.

"R...Riku! Stop! Why are you doing this?"

"Because I have to do what's best for Kairi. I'm the only one who can save her."

"D...Donald! Goofy!"

"Hey, leave Sora alone!" Goofy said angrily.

"What do you care?" Riku shot at him. "You haven't even known Sora for that long. Besides, what use is he to you? He's just some kid. I'm the Keyblade Master, not him."

The duck exchanged glances with the dog. "Goofy, King Mickey did say to find the person with the Key..."

"But Donald..."

Riku gave a scornful laugh. "What, now you think I'm going to help you clowns? Keep dreaming. I don't need anyone's help but my own... my heart's the strongest there is."

"Riku... what's wrong with you? This isn't like you," Sora said. Riku could see that he was trembling.

"I told you. I have to save Kairi."

"I want to save her too, but... siding with the Heartless? Kidnapping people? There are other ways to save Kairi. What you're doing is wrong."

"Sh...shut up! You don't know anything."

"You've changed, Riku..."

Riku glared at him, his grip tightening around the Keyblade. Something about Sora's last comment irked him more than usual. It was Sora, not Riku, who had changed. There was a time when Sora would have done anything to save Kairi, but now he was babbling on about right and wrong. There was no right or wrong where Kairi was involved. All that mattered was saving her, no matter what the means. Riku clenched his free fist; the fact that Sora couldn't see that enraged him. Kairi deserved better.

But as much hate as he felt towards Sora right now... could he really do something as extreme as killing him? Somewhere in Riku's heart, there was something restraining him.

Still holding the Keyblade to Sora's chest, Riku turned and looked around the cavernous space of the whale's mouth. An odd space ship was lying near the whale's teeth; presumably, that was how Sora, Donald, and Goofy had been able to find him.

Maleficent was right; Sora was far too meddlesome for his own good. Riku had to do something to keep him out of the way.

Riku pointed at the ship with his free hand. A dark aura began to radiate from his palm; suddenly, bursts of dark energy flew forward, smashing into the hull of the ship.

"Riku, what are you doing?"

"Hey! That's our ship!" Donald shouted angrily, jumping up and down.

"You never fail to ruin our plans, Sora," Riku said, as the ship exploded in the background. "As a favor to an old friend, I'll spare you, but you can't keep flying around between worlds and getting in my way. Now you have no method of travel."

"Yeah, but now we're stuck here!"

"I'll take care of that."

Riku held up his hand once more, creating a dark portal underneath Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They all shouted and tried to break free; but darkness was creeping up around their feet, and they were unable to escape.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way, Sora," Riku said quietly. "Once this is all over, maybe Kairi will find it in her heart to forgive you for not caring enough about her. Until then, you have to go somewhere where you can't cause any trouble."

"R...Riku!"

But before he could say another word, he, Donald, and Goofy vanished in a swirl of darkness, and the portal closed.

Riku sighed, sadness gripping his heart. Sometime in the course of their argument, Pinocchio had apparently recovered and escaped, but Riku didn't even care at this point. Chances were that the puppet didn't hold the key to saving Kairi anyway. Riku would go back to Maleficent... she would know what to do...

* * *

"What happened? Where are we?" Donald said once they finally emerged from the dark portal.

"Gawrsh, I think we're back in Traverse Town!"

"Riku..." Sora said quietly, sinking to his knees. Donald and Goofy seemed to pay him no mind, and they walked off arguing.

"We've gotta go convince the Keyblade Master to help us!"

"Uh... but how? He said he's so strong he doesn't need our help..."

"Don't argue, Goofy! We also have to find a new Gummi Ship..."

"But Donald, we had the only one..."

"I said don't argue!"

Sora sat quietly on the ground as the two walked away. Why did it have to be this way? He knew that Kairi wouldn't blame him; he was doing the right thing, he knew he was. Why had Riku changed so much? Saving Kairi was no excuse for siding with the Heartless. The Heartless were the ones who had destroyed their island... they were evil. Did that make Riku evil, too? Sora wished nothing more than to wake up and find himself back on the Destiny Islands, to find out that all of this was just a nightmare...

"Sora? Is that you?" a voice suddenly said. Sora looked up.

"Aladdin?"

* * *

Maleficent and Riku were back on Captain Hook's ship, standing in the cabin. Kairi's unmoving body lay on the window seat where he had left her; Riku could hardly bear to look at her.

"So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?"

"Precisely."

Riku's eyes lowered, unable to look Maleficent in the eyes. "And her heart was..."

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."

Riku turned to her in desperation. "Tell me! What can I do?"

Maleficent smiled. "There are seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the Princesses of Heart. Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds." She swept her arm through the air in a grand gesture. "Within lies untold wisdom. There you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart."

"The Princesses of Heart? So that's what you needed Alice and Jasmine for?"

"Yes... although I'll admit that my ultimate goal was perhaps a bit different than yours." Maleficent grinned, placing a clawed hand on Riku's head. "Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift...the power to control the Heartless."

Riku looked down at himself as he began to glow with a dark light. He could feel an incredible amount of power flowing from Maleficent's hand into his body. Was this what even greater powers of darkness felt like? It was exhilarating.

"Soon, Kairi. Soon."

* * *

"So, Agrabah was destroyed after all?"

"Yeah," Aladdin said sadly as the two walked through Traverse Town's streets. "After you vanished, the Heartless kept pouring into the Keyhole. Suddenly everything began falling apart; I don't remember much, but after a while I woke up here."

"I'm sorry," Sora said quietly. "I feel like I'm part responsible. I helped Jafar, after all."

"Hey, don't worry about it. You didn't know. No hard feelings."

"Thanks," Sora said with a smile. He suddenly stopped and looked around as they came to the town square. "Hey... does it seem crowded here to you?"

"Yeah. After I came here, people kept showing up like I did. It seems like a lot of worlds are being destroyed, not just mine and yours..."

Sora looked around at all of the people. There were people of all shapes and sizes, and everyone seemed so out of place; he felt sorry for all of them. Some of them were as bizarre as Donald and Goofy. A tall, skeletal man in a pinstripe suit was conversing with a group of men who looked like playing cards; a man who looked like he belonged in the jungle was being chased around by a shouting Queen; and in the corner of the square a huge fishtank had been constructed and filled with what appeared to be merpeople. All in all, the scene was chaos.

"Leon!" Sora said, spotting him nearby. He looked like he was about to kill someone. "What's going on?"

"About time," Leon said in irritation. "Where are Donald and Goofy? Did you bring back the Keyblade Master?"

"Not exactly. I'll tell you about it later. What are all these people doing here?"

"They're all here because I'm having a field day trying to find places to put them all," Leon said, gritting his teeth. "It seems like the Heartless threat is getting even worse, destroying worlds left and right. At this rate, I'm beginning to wonder if there will be any worlds left at _all_ when this is over..."

"But there's plenty of room in the other districts, why not set up all of these people there?"

Leon shook his head. "Not a chance. The Heartless here in Traverse Town are getting worse by the day; we've had to close off the second and third districts entirely. They're positively crawling with Heartless. I don't know what we're going to do..."

"There's got to be something we can do," Sora said, turning to Aladdin. "Don't you think there are people here who would be willing to help? Out of all of these worlds, there have to be some people who could stand up to the Heartless."

"Yeah, you're right," Aladdin said, then grinned. "I'll start recruiting!"

As Aladdin ran off into the crowd, Sora turned to Leon with a grin. "See? We've got you covered."

Leon looked positively surprised. "Oh, uh... thank you, Sora. I didn't think you would be any help."

"...You're welcome, I think..."


	8. Neverland and the Resistance

Riku stared at Kairi for a moment, then finally broke away and turned to Maleficent. "What should I do now?"

"As I said, the best way to save Kairi would be to recover the seven Princesses of Heart and open the final door. So far we have five of them - Snow White, Aurora, Cinderella, Alice, and Jasmine."

"And the remaining two?"

"The Heartless are searching as we speak. As it is, we have a couple of leads - two girls by the names of Wendy Darling and Belle. We aren't quite sure yet... there is a certain margin of error involved in the location process."

"I see," Riku said quietly. "Where can I find these two?"

"Belle lives in an enchanted castle ruled by a ferocious Beast. As for Wendy, this ship is heading for her as we speak. Though it isn't her original world, she is currently in a place known as Neverland. It happens to be Captain Hook's home world as well."

"So I should ensure that she comes aboard?"

"Precisely," Maleficent said with a smile. "I'll leave the rest to you, Riku."

Riku nodded, then watched as Maleficent disappeared in a swirl of green and black flames. He then turned to face Kairi once more, watching her as she slept. She looked so peaceful... could her heart really be gone? In any case, Riku would do anything to save her.

"Are you in here, boy?" Captain Hook said, sticking his head in the doorway. "We're almost to Neverland, get ready to disembark."

"Right," Riku said, walking out onto the deck. Once outside, he could see that they had landed in the water on some world, and were currently headed towards the shore. Neverland appeared to be a large island, roughly the size of Destiny Islands' mainland.

"Head straight into Pirate's Cove, Smee," Captain Hook ordered a small portly man who was steering the ship. "Once we drop anchor, we can start hunting down Wendy and that bilge rat, Peter Pan..."

"Where will they be?" Riku asked.

"Around the Lost Boys' Hideout, I would assume," Captain Hook said simply. "We aren't quite sure where it is yet, but it's somewhere on the other side of those mountains."

"Leave it to me," Riku said simply. Remembering the power that Maleficent had granted him, he lifted his hand and summoned a large group of Heartless. He grinned. He could definitely get used to this.

* * *

"Attention everyone," Aladdin called from the center of the crowd. No one paid him any attention. Frustrated, Aladdin looked around, then spotted a balcony hanging over a small café. He had plenty of experience climbing around on rooftops back in Agrabah, so it was no trouble at all for him to make it to the balcony. Feeling the need for a little extra help in being heard, he pulled the lamp from his belt and gave it a rub.

"Hey Al, what's up?" the Genie said cheerfully after appearing a plume of blue smoke. "You wanna be heard, right? Fight the power and all that? Don't forget, I'm a free Genie now, so I don't do the whole wish-granting gig anymore..."

Aladdin looked crestfallen. "But Genie..."

"But a favor, now that's entirely different!" the Genie said, then magically turned into a blue megaphone. "Fire away!"

"Uh...attention everyone," he said. Everyone in the crowd turned to look at him. Much better. "If any fighters would be willing to join a response team to deal with the Heartless threat, we're gonna have a table set up in the square. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you."

As he got down from the balcony, the crowd was talking excitedly.

"Daddy, can't I please go fight the Heartless?"

"No, Ariel, it's far too dangerous! Besides, we can't go on land as it is..."

"The Heartless? Are those those shadow things? They destroyed my home world!"

"Mine too! They should be taught a lesson! It's too crowded here anyway!"

"Off with their heads!"

"Looks like you did a good job," Leon said, as Aladdin walked back to where he and Sora were standing. "Hopefully we'll get a good turnout. Maybe we can finally take back Traverse Town."

* * *

Riku soared over the Neverland country side, riding on top of a huge black bird-like Heartless. This was so much more convenient than using a portal... you had to know exactly where you were going when using the corridors of darkness, but this way he could search the entire island if he had to. The Heartless were already proving to be more useful than he had thought.

On the other side of the mountains, Riku could see that it was mostly forest. He scanned the trees far below, searching for some signs of the girl named Wendy.

"Gosh, is that some kind of bird?" a voice said from directly behind him, and Riku nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned quickly to face the intruder. It was a boy roughly his age wearing green; he was apparently flying all on his own. "I can't say I've ever seen anything like it before..."

"Wh...who the hell are you?" Riku demanded.

"Well, aren't we friendly?" the boy said sarcastically. "I'm Peter Pan."

"And how are you..."

"What? Flying?" Peter Pan rolled his eyes. "All you need is a little fairy dust... it's not that hard. It's a lot easier than dealing with some big black bird, I'm sure. What is that thing, anyway?"

"It's a Heartless," Riku said, regaining his composure. "Do you know a girl named Wendy?"

"Oh! Yeah, I do... why? Do you know her?"

"Yeah, kind of," Riku lied. "I'm, uh, a friend of hers. From her home world."

"Well, a friend of Wendy's is a friend of mine. What are we waiting for?" Peter Pan said excitedly. "I'll show you the way to the Lost Boys' Hideout!"

Riku smiled. "Thank you very much."

* * *

"Name?"

"Jack Skellington, at your service," the skeletal man said, bowing low. Leon wrote down something on his pad of paper.

"And your home world?"

"Halloweentown."

"Very well," Leon said, pointing behind him. "You can join the other recruits over there, where the ninja girl is standing."

"This is going really well," Sora said with a grin as Jack went to join the other recruits. "Those Heartless will be gone in no time."

Leon sighed. "Well, at least we can hope for the best. I've still got some second thoughts about this..."

"Don't be so pessimistic," Sora said brightly. "Just look at that list... who do we have so far?"

"Let's see... Aladdin, Tarzan, Mushu, Simba, Hercules, Will Turner, Jack Sparrow, Jack Skellington... there are a few more. It's still not that many if you ask me."

"But we'll be helping too," Sora reminded him.

"Great... that adds, what, five more? Me, you, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid. That's not much of a difference."

"And Donald, Goofy, and Merlin," Sora added hopefully.

"We can at least try, Leon," Yuffie said, approaching him from behind and patting him on the shoulder. "By the way, I think our new recruits are ready. Do you want to give our plan a test run?"

"Sure," Leon said with a sigh. "We can start with the Second District."

Sora grinned, pumping his fist into the air. "Alright! It's time to take back Traverse Town!"

* * *

"That was surprisingly quick," Captain Hook said, scratching his head with his hook. "You brought back Wendy already?"

Riku nodded, dismounting from the bird Heartless. He was carrying a struggling Wendy over his shoulder, who was being restrained with some kind of dark energy. "Peter Pan led me right to her. It seems like he trusts anyone who isn't an adult."

"I see," Captain Hook said, grinning widely. "And the fate of Peter Pan...?"

"I dunno. I managed to lose him, but he'll probably be here soon. I trust you can take care of him yourself?"

Captain Hook turned pale, then removed his hat and began fiddling with it nervously. "Well, that is... of course I can, but it's a rather, uh..."

"Good," Riku said curtly. "Prepare to set sail."

As Riku went into the ship's cabin with Wendy over his shoulder, Captain Hook stomped his feet angrily.

"That scurvy brat thinks he can order me around!"

"What shall we do, Captain Hook?" Mr. Smee asked nervously. "If Peter Pan gets here..."

"We'll be fine," Hook said quietly. "If we hurry, we can get away from Neverland before he can catch up with us. And even if he does come, there are Heartless all over this ship. He won't last a minute!"

"Who won't last a minute?" a voice said behind him, and Captain Hook turned in shock.

"P...Peter Pan!"

"That's my name, you old codfish!" Peter said cheerfully, hovering a few feet above the deck. "Now, give back Wendy!"

"Never!" He grinned and pulled his sword from its sheath, as several Heartless appeared around him. "You'll have to get past the Heartless first!"

* * *

"How very interesting," Maleficent said quietly, running a clawed finger along Wendy's cheek. Wendy, who was watching with terrified eyes, shuddered.

"Well?"

"She isn't the one," Maleficent finally said, turning to Riku.

"What? You mean Wendy isn't a Princess of Heart?"

"I told you, I'm not the princess of anything! Please let me go!" Wendy pleaded, but Riku ignored her.

"So does that mean the seventh princess is still out there somewhere?"

"Yes," Maleficent said, nodding. "I will continue to try to locate her. In the meantime, you should head to the castle where Belle is located. I am a bit more sure that she is one of the seven."

"Let's hope you're right this time," Riku said quietly. "I want to save Kairi as soon as possible; there's no time for making mistakes."

"But of course," Maleficent said with a smile. In a flash of green and black flames, she was gone. Riku looked down at Wendy.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"You could let me go," Wendy said hopefully, and Riku laughed.

"Perhaps. In the meantime, you'll have to go down in the hold."

A loud thumping sound came from outside, and Riku turned to look at the door.

"I'll be back," he said shortly, then went out onto the deck. There, he could see that Captain Hook was standing over a struggling Peter Pan, who was being held down by Heartless.

"Send him to the brig," Captain Hook ordered, as the Heartless began to carry the boy off. He turned to face Riku. "Ah, there you are, boy. How did your meeting with Maleficent go?"

"We got the wrong girl, apparently."

Captain Hook looked surprised. "What? So Wendy's not one of the chosen ones?"

Riku nodded. "There are seven, supposedly, and Maleficent says she's not one of them. Hoist anchor as soon as possible. Leave all the dead weight behind, including her."

"After the trouble of capturing her? And why those seven? What is Maleficent planning, anyway?"

"Who knows?" Riku turned and began walking back to the cabin. "As long as it means getting Kairi's heart back, I couldn't care less."

Captain Hook shook his head. "Hmph. You're wasting your time! The Heartless have devoured that girl's heart. I'll stake me other hand it's lost forever."

"I will find it no matter what."

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe this is working," Leon said, surprised. He slashed at a Heartless with his gunblade. "We're actually making a lot of progress, considering we don't have the Keyblade to help us out."

"Told you so," Sora said, blocking an attack with his sword. "This place will be Heartless-free in no time!"

"All of these recruits are a lot of help, too," Yuffie said, dodging a Heartless. "Just look at that lion! He's doing a number on them!"

"What about us?" Donald said angrily. He raised his staff into the air and called down a bolt of lighting, destroying a cluster of Heartless. "We're helping too!"

"You're doing great, Donald," Aerith said reassuringly. She was providing healing magic for anyone who needed it. "Everyone is, really."

"Well I say, I do believe that's the last one in this area," Merlin said, rubbing his hands together. "Good show, everyone!"

"I say we take on the third district as well," Will Turner said, slashing his sword through the air.

"You're awfully eager to laugh in the face of danger, aren't you William?" another man said with a smirk.

"Don't tell me that Jack Sparrow is afraid of a few Heartless..."

"That's Captain Jack Sparrow, thanks."

"What do you say, Leon? Everyone seems full of energy today, all... twenty of us." Sora said with a grin.

Leon gave a small smile in return. "Alright, I guess we may as well. Let's clear out the third district too."

"Let's go kick some honeybuns!" a tiny red dragon shouted, running towards the door as the group followed him.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Riku asked, emerging from the cabin and approaching Captain Hook on the deck. "I'd like to take as little time as possible."

"It will be a while yet," Captain Hook said in irritation. "Sailing through interspace is no game. I'd wager... three, four hours?"

"That long?" Riku said with a groan.

"If you're in such a hurry, find your own way there," Captain Hook said with a growl. "I'm tired of ferrying around Maleficent's little protegé as it is..."

Riku thought for a moment, then grinned. "Not a bad idea, Hook. Thanks."

"Hey, where are you going?" Captain Hook stammered as Riku walked back to the cabin. "You're not actually leaving, are you?"

Riku didn't answer. Without another word, Riku went into the cabin and shut the door behind him. Captain Hook shook his head in disbelief.

"The nerve of children these days... I can't stand them."

A moment later, Mr. Smee emerged from the cabin. "Captain Hook! Peter Pan has escaped!"

"What? Blast that Peter Pan! All right, then. Bring the hostage to me cabin, Smee! Hop to it!"

"Yes, Captain. Also, I should say that Riku and that girl Kairi are gone... I saw him disappear with her just now."

"Is that so?" Captain Hook said thoughtfully. "Quite a codfish, that Riku... running off with that girl without even saying goodbye. Well, good riddance. We're better off without him."

"Yes, Captain..."

* * *

Riku appeared through a dark portal, holding Kairi. He was back in his room in Hollow Bastion. He needed to get to the Beast's Castle, but he wasn't about to endanger Kairi by bringing her there. She would wait here for when he brought back Belle.

He clutched his chest, feeling rather tired. Was that a side effect of travelling across the barrier between worlds? He typically had a vessel or Maleficent's help... still, it wasn't like he had much of a choice. He wasn't about to wait hours for Captain Hook to get to their destination. The sooner he saved Kairi, the better.

"I'll be back, Kairi," Riku said quietly, gently laying her on his bed. The next moment, he vanished in a swirl of darkness.


	9. Finding the Princess

Riku emerged from a dark portal in an elegant, grand ballroom. While the ballroom was very well-lit, through the huge glass windows he could see that it was nighttime outside. This must be the Beast's castle. He left the ballroom and began to walk throughout the castle corridors. It seemed very well kept; but despite this, he could see no servants or guards of any kind. His footsteps echoed in the huge empty space. Surely this castle wasn't under the same sleeping enchantment as the castle in Maleficent's home world? Memories of that castle came crashing back to him as he remembered Kairi's current state, but he brushed such thoughts aside. He was here because of Kairi, after all. Now, where could Belle be?

Lifting his hand, he summoned a group of Heartless.

"Find Belle. Do whatever you want to anyone who gets in your way, but keep her safe."

As the Heartless scurried away, Riku grinned. Now it began; the search for the sixth Princess of Heart. Belle would soon be his.

* * *

"For the love of Zeus, there are even more Heartless in this district," Hercules said in frustration, punching through a group of them.

"We'll be fine. Just don't give up!" Sora said.

"Sora, watch your back!"

Sora turned quickly and blocked a Heartless attack with his sword a split second before it hit him. He then forced it backwards and slashed it out of existance.

"Whoah... thanks Leon."

"No problem."

"I wonder why there are so many Heartless in this area?" Yuffie asked aloud. "That witch Maleficent is usually in charge of them, but we haven't seen her here in a while."

"It's possible that they have another leader," Leon said with a frown. He stabbed a Heartless with his gunblade. "You know, a particularly powerful Heartless or something like that. If we find and eliminate the leader, the Heartless problem will probably take care of itself."

"Well, we should start looking," Aladdin said, who was fighting back to back with the Genie. "Genie, do you think you could find out where the leader is?"

"Sure thing Al!" the blue Genie said, a magical blue radar appearing before him. "Let's see. According to my Genie-Dar 2000, the strongest Heartless here is... by the Keyhole."

The group exchanged glances.

"By the Keyhole? But doesn't that mean..."

"Oh no!" Sora said, eyes widening in fear. "They're trying to steal the heart of this world!"

"Where will everyone go if Traverse Town is destroyed?" Jack Skellington asked with worry. "This is already the world of refugees. Will we all just disappear?"

Leon glared, then slashed his gunblade through the air. "Not if I can help it."

* * *

Riku emerged from the dark portal, then dropped to his knees, panting. Belle, who he had been carrying over his shoulder, fell to the stone floor, already unconscious.

"I see you brought Belle. Excellent work."

Riku said nothing, still trying to catch his breath. Maleficent smirked, then continued.

"It was reckless to bring her here without at least using a vessel. Remember, relying too heavily on the dark powers could cost you your heart."

Riku glared at her. "I don't need your concern. I'm the Keyblade Master, after all."

"As you wish."

Riku took another deep breath, then straightened and looked at Belle. "So now we have six of the seven princesses, correct?"

"Yes. I'm working on finding the final princess as we speak."

"And Kairi?"

"She has yet to awaken. I moved her from your chambers to the room where I have kept the princesses so I could keep an eye on her."

Riku nodded silently. Capturing Belle hadn't been easy - he had met quite a bit of resistance from another resident of the castle, the Beast. Riku had only just managed to escape with her; by the time he got away, the Heartless had found the Keyhole. He assumed that the world had been destroyed by now; and while he felt a little guilty, he would destroy a thousand worlds if it meant saving Kairi.

Suddenly, a loud roar rang out in the distance. It sounded like it was coming from outside the castle; Riku turned to Maleficent in alarm. Weren't they the only two residents of this world?

"A castaway," Maleficent said simply, reading the expression on Riku's face. "Though his world perished, his heart did not."

"You mean...?"

"Yes... the Beast. When you took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her here through sheer force of will. But fear not. No harm will come to you. He is no match for your power."

"My power?"

Maleficent smiled. "Yes, the untapped power that lies within you. As weilder of the Keyblade, you already know that your heart is the strongest there is. Now, child, it's time you awakened that power and realized your full potential."

As Maleficent lifted a hand over his head, Riku felt something odd occurring within his chest. Surges of dark power ran through him; was this the true power of the Keyblade Master?

"I believe you can handle our unwelcome guest yourself."

Riku nodded. "Thank you for doing all of this for me."

"Think nothing of it, my boy. After all, I have grown rather fond of you."

Riku gave a small smile, then turned and began to walk towards the front of the castle. He would deal with the Beast quickly, then get back to saving Kairi. They had one more princess to find... he had no time to waste on unimportant distractions.

* * *

A huge armored Heartless stood before Traverse Town's Keyhole. Yuffie took a deep breath.

"I guess this is it. The leader."

Leon nodded. "If we take him out, the Heartless problem in the other districts should take care of itself. We can't let them run our town any longer."

"What are we waiting for?" Sora said, slashing his sword through the air. "The sooner we get rid of him, the better!"

"Everyone, do your best to fight this thing, but be careful. Remember, they're still Heartless, and they can still steal your heart. Aerith is standing by with healing spells," Leon instructed the group. "Now, give it everything you've got!"

"Let's do this thing," Cid said, slamming his fist into the palm of his hand. The next moment, the group was running towards the Heartless leader, preparing to strike.

* * *

Riku soon found himself at the Rising Falls. It had been some time since he had been here - the last time was when he had first come to Hollow Bastion after the islands had been destroyed, and Maleficent had found him. So much had changed since then. He wondered... how would things have been different if the Heartless had never come to the islands? Sora, Riku, and Kairi... they were once inseparable. Would the three of them still be friends if none of this had happened? So much of this seemed like one long, bad nightmare; and yet there were good things that had happened as well. He had grown stronger in his adventures... and he had discovered who his true friends were. Only time would tell if he still had any regrets once it was all over.

Far below him, Riku could see the hairy brown mass of the Beast. How was he still alive? Riku was almost positive that the Beast's world had been destroyed. Jumping down from the highest platform, he landed on the floating stone platform just above the Beast.

The Beast drew back in surprise, then glared at Riku with malice as he realized who was standing before him.

"You. You're the one who took Belle from me."

Riku smirked. "No vessel, no help from the Heartless... so tell me, how'd you get here?"

"I simply believed," the Beast said quietly. "Nothing more to it. When you brought darkness to our world and took Belle away from me, I vowed I would find her again no matter what the cost. I believed I would find her. So, here I am. You must have brought her here." The Beast clenched his fist angrily. "I will have her back!"

"Take her if you can," Riku said, grinning.

The Beast gave a roar of fury, then leapt forward, swiping at Riku with powerful claws. Riku merely sidestepped him, slashing at him with the Keyblade. The Beast collapsed in pain.

"I won't have you getting in the way of my plans," Riku said quietly. Lifting his hand, he summoned a group of Heartless, who swarmed around the Beast. The Beast tried to fight back, but was soon covered in writhing darkness. Within moments, he was gone; a huge, hairy black Heartless stood in his place.

"I may have some use for you later," Riku said, then snapped his fingers, dismissing the Beast's Heartless. It was a bit of a shame; the Beast's story sounded like a classic fairy tale romance. However, Belle was necessary to open the final door, and saving Kairi was more important to him than the fates of anyone else involved.

Riku turned to go back inside the castle, but was shocked to find a hooded man standing in his way. Riku summoned his Keyblade, clutching it tightly.

"You possess great strength and diligence," the figure said in a low voice. "The Keyblade chooses its master well."

"Who are you?"

"You don't remember me, I see," the figure said quietly. Riku thought for a moment; then his eyes widened in recognition. He remembered speaking to the man just before his home world was destroyed.

"You... you were on the islands that night, weren't you?"

"Yes. I opened the door."

Riku gasped. "You mean... you were the one? You were the one who led the Heartless to our world?"

"Yes. I was searching for the Keyblade Master."

Riku's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why? What do you want with me?"

"The Keyblade holds far more power than you are aware of. I have come to unlock that power."

"But Maleficent already said that she unlocked my full potential."

Riku could not see the man's face, but he could feel his smirk. "She cannot comprehend the forces she toys with. The power of the Keyblade is far greater than anything she could ever imagine. You wish to open the final door, correct?"

"Yes," Riku said quietly. "I hope to save someone who is very dear to me."

"I can help you find the seventh princess," the man said.

Riku gasped. "Really? Please, tell me! Who is she?"

"Will you do as I say?"

"I'll do anything if it means saving Kairi," Riku said fiercely. The man chuckled quietly, an eerie sound.

"Very well. Come with me."

* * *

While it normally might have taken quite some time, with everyone working together the gigantic Heartless was quickly defeated. It fell to the ground with a crash, at which point the entire group cheered.

"We did it! We saved Traverse Town!" Sora said happily, jumping up and down. Yuffie grinned, then pounded him on the back.

"We did, thanks to you!"

"What? But it wasn't just me, everyone helped out..."

"Yep, but it was your idea to recruit people," Aladdin said.

"I'll admit, I was surprised," Leon said, giving a small smile. "I didn't expect you to be any help, but you have been. Hell, we probably would have been a lot better off if _you_ had gotten the Keyblade instead of Riku."

"Well, I dunno about that," Sora said quietly.

Yuffie nodded. "Speaking of Riku... he's still off in Hollow Bastion with Maleficent. Shouldn't we be finding some way to get there?"

"Gawrsh, but we had the only gummi ship," Goofy said, scratching his head. "And since Riku destroyed it, we've got no way of gettin' around."

"Riku's fine, I'm sure." Sora said quietly. "I just hope he's started to come to his senses."

* * *

"So this is the Keyhole?"

Riku and the hooded man were standing in a huge room in the depths of the castle. Elaborate machinery lined the walls; in the center of the back wall was a huge swirling portal in the shape of the Heartless emblem. Kairi was lying on the ground on the center of the main circular stone platform. In the hallway leading to this room, Riku had seen the pods where the six princesses were being kept, comatose.

"Yes. In order to reach the final door, it is necessary to harness the energy contained within the world's heart. After all, the final door leads to the heart of all worlds, and all worlds are connected to it."

"And that's what Maleficent is after? The heart of all worlds?"

"Yes... Kingdom Hearts."

The name itself seemed to hold a kind of power, taking Riku's breath away. He turned to look at the man.

"Why? What does she hope to gain?"

The man chuckled. "If darkness is the heart's true essence... then surely the heart of all worlds must be the same. Within Kingdom Hearts lies an infinite source of power unlike any the universe has ever seen."

"So hearts are... ultimately dark?" Riku asked quietly.

"I should think it would be obvious by now. You have seen it yourself, have you not? The Keyblade chooses whoever has the strongest heart... and your heart lies within a deep darkness. Darkness is strength. But that isn't the full extent of your power."

"It's not?"

"You showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness. It held no terror for you. Plunger deeper into the darkness, and your heart will grow even stronger."

Riku nodded. "Fine. But first, tell me where I can find the seventh Princess of Heart. You said you knew."

The man chuckled quietly. "You still haven't figured it out, have you? No matter how long Maleficent searches, she will never find the seventh princess. This is because the seventh Princess of Heart has been under her nose this entire time. Yours as well."

Riku gasped. "You can't possibly mean..."

"Yes... Kairi is the last princess."


	10. Sacrifice

(( Wow... it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the really, really long delay, but here's chapter 10! More possibly coming soon; we're getting close to the end here! Enjoy, and feel free to R&R. ))

* * *

Riku was silent. This information was almost too much to take in. He shook his head in frustration and denial.

"That's impossible. Kairi can't be a princess. All we have on the islands is a mayor, and she's not related to him at all."

The man shook his head slowly. "Hardly impossible. Aren't you forgetting something? About her past?"

Riku's eyes widened in comprehension. "You mean... her home world? Tell me, where did she live before she came to our islands? Do you know?"

"She lived here, in Hollow Bastion. This is where she was a princess, before Maleficent conquered this world."

"Then..." Riku looked over at Kairi's lifeless body. Panic spread through him. "Then why isn't she waking up? Did the Heartless really take her heart?"

"No. Kairi's heart is safe, although you cannot reach it."

"Then where is it? Please tell me!"

The hooded man chuckled. "It's ironic. You would have done well to keep your friend Sora close at hand. That's where Kairi's heart went... it has been there all along. Kairi's heart rests within Sora."

Riku's eyes narrowed. "What? That's impossible. Why would it be inside him? He barely even cares about her."

"I do not know the reasons for what happened, merely that it is so. If you wish to revive Kairi, that is where her heart is."

"Fine. How do I get it out?"

"There is only one way to extract Kairi's heart," the man said, folding his arms. "Because the two hearts are connected, you must first release Sora's. Only then will Kairi's heart return to her body. I realize you might not wish to do such a thing to your friend..."

"Sora isn't my friend," Riku said fiercely. "I'll do it in a heartbeat if it means saving Kairi."

The man chuckled. "You do indeed possess great strength of heart, I see. The Keyblade suits you."

Riku waved his hand impatiently. "Of course it does, I know that. Now, how do I release Sora's heart? Do I just set a Heartless on him?"

"No. If the Heartless attack Sora, Kairi's heart will be consumed along with his. Instead, there is a specific method that only the Keyblade Master can utilize. Will you do as I say?"

Riku's eyes flashed. Kairi was so close he could almost taste it; there was no way he was going to back out now.

"I will."

* * *

"I see the path has emerged at last."

"Yes," Maleficent said with relish. "The Keyhole to the darkness."

Riku nodded. After helping him out, the hooded man had vanished. He seemed to not want Maleficent to see him. Riku had no idea why... nor did he care. After all, the man was helping him grow far stronger than Maleficent ever had. She had no idea what the true potential of the Keyblade Master was.

"If you unlock the Keyhole, won't the Heartless overrun this world?"

Maleficent scoffed. "What do I care? The darkness holds no power over me. Rather, I will use its power to rule all worlds."

Riku smirked. "You're rather confident. What is it that you always say to me? That the darkness consumes the hearts of the careless?"

Maleficent shot a glare at him. "Don't get smart with me, boy. What do you know? I hold powers you could never dream of."

Riku gave a dark smile. "Of course you do." It was all he could do to keep from wiping the self-satisfied smirk from her face by telling her what he knew, but now was neither the time nor the place. She would get what was coming to her soon enough.

Without another word, he summoned the dark Keyblade that the man had helped him create. It had a blood-red handle and a pitch-black blade; it looked positively wicked. Maleficent frowned when she saw it.

"What on earth is that?"

"A Keyblade with the power to unlock hearts. I created it from the hearts of the six princesses."

Maleficent looked surprised. "That's rather impressive I'll admit, but... how would you know to do such a thing?"

"It just... seemed obvious," Riku lied, not adding that it had been the hooded man who had instructed him through the process. "Since it's made from the hearts of the Princesses of Heart, it should be able to unlock the Keyhole once we have the seventh princess."

"I see," Maleficent said quietly, then smiled. "Excellent work, Riku. You have more worth than I anticipated. Now, I must check on the progress of the search for the seventh princess. The sooner we unlock the path to the final door, the better!"

Riku nodded, and Maleficent vanished in a burst of green and black flames.

"She underestimates you," a voice said suddenly, and as Riku turned he saw that the hooded man had appeared once more.

"What do you mean?"

"She claims to hold such power over the darkness... when in reality, you have far more power than she does. She has failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her. She is just a puppet of the Heartless."

"I see," Riku said quietly. It made plenty of sense, but something wasn't adding up. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Tell me something; how do you know all of this?"

The man chuckled. "Don't be so quick to mistrust, Riku. I, like you, am merely a seeker of darkness. I simply wish to see all of this unfold."

"How do you expect me to trust you when I don't even know your name?" Riku demanded.

The man bowed his head. "Fair enough. My name is Ansem."

"Ansem?" Riku repeated. The name sounded familiar somehow. Reluctantly, he nodded. "Alright. I'll trust you for now."

The man chuckled. "Excellent. Now that introductions are out of the way, shall we get on with saving Kairi?"

Riku smiled rapturously. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment."

* * *

With the gigantic armored Heartless gone, the Heartless were beginning to clear out of Traverse Town on their own. There were still a few stragglers, but with the Traverse Town Resistance Force (as they had named themselves) patrolling the streets, it was relatively safe throughout the entire town. Pretty soon, those whose worlds had been destroyed were able to start their lives anew in the other districts.

"We've come a long way," Leon said quietly, watching as a group of card guards and a handful of gorillas helped move furniture into a vacant home. "This town is actually turning into a little safe haven. We've been doing pretty well without the Keyblade Master after all."

Sora nodded. "I'm glad that everyone's been getting along. This is a pretty nice town."

"We're glad you showed up," Yuffie said, patting Sora on the shoulder. "If not for your ideas, we might still have the Heartless knocking on our door."

Sora blushed. "Hey, knock it off... it's because of everyone working together that Traverse Town is back to normal, not just me."

Yuffie laughed. "You just can't take a compliment, can you?"

"Well, anyway... I'm glad to be here," Sora said with a smile. "I just wish I knew if Kairi was safe. But if Riku is trying to save her... then maybe I have no reason to worry. Even if he is dark, I know Riku can get the job done."

"We'll be able to find her," Aerith said reassuringly. "There's a team working on building another gummi ship as we speak. I'm sure Kairi is fine."

Sora nodded. "Thanks, you guys..."

Without warning, a dark portal suddenly opened beneath his feet. Sora gasped and tried to struggle away.

"Sora!" Leon shouted, grabbing his arms. "Hang on!"

"H...help!" Sora shouted, as darkness crept up around his legs. Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith tried to pull him free, but couldn't. Within moments, Sora had vanished.

"S...Sora!"

_Why does this keep happening to me?_ he thought desperately as he faded into darkness.

* * *

A bright light suddenly pierced through his closed eyelids; blinking, Sora found himself in a brightly-lit library.

_Where am I...? Am I... dreaming?_

An elderly woman was sitting in a rocking chair, talking to someone. She was speaking and didn't seem to notice him.

"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared."

She shook her old head sadly, then gave a wrinkled smile. "But small fragments of light survived...in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return."

She pointed a gnarled finger at someone Sora couldn't see. "So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi?"

_Kairi?_

Sora looked down and saw a young girl with red hair, younger than when she had first come to the islands; but soon everything faded into black.

* * *

Sora felt himself floating along through darkness, the feeling he usually got when going through dark portals. It didn't last long; after a moment, he reappeared on a stone floor. He looked around.

_Where am I? Is this... Hollow Bastion? Then that means..._

"Good to see you again, Sora."

"Riku!" Sora said, getting to his feet. "How are you? Is Kairi okay?"

"What do you care?" Riku snapped, glaring at him. "At any rate... look behind you and see for yourself."

Sora turned, then spotted Kairi lying motionless on the ground, and his heart skipped a beat. He ran to her, kneeling down and holding her in his arms.

"Kairi! Kairi, open your eyes!"

"It's no use," Riku said quietly. "She's lost her heart; she can't wake up. I've tried, believe me."

"Then... what can we do?" Sora said, getting to his feet. "Riku, I know you hate me, but... please! I have to help save Kairi!"

"Isn't it ironic?" Riku said quietly, ignoring him. "You, who care so little about her... you're the one who had the key to saving her all along."

"What are you talking about?"

Without another word, Riku summoned his dark Keyblade. Sora gasped as an unbelievable pain tugged at his chest in response.

"What's..."

"Don't you see yet?" Riku said angrily. "Kairi's heart is responding. It has been there all along. Kairi's heart rests within you!"

"Kairi... Kairi's inside me?" Sora gasped, clutching his chest.

"Yes. I don't know why, or how, but it's the truth. And now I'm going to release her heart."

"Wh...what does that mean?" Sora said, taking a step back in fear. Riku smirked, clenching his fist.

"What do you think?" he asked, then slashed the Keyblade through the air, pointing its deadly tip at Sora's chest. "This is a Keyblade that unlocks people's hearts. It's the only way to save Kairi."

"Wait a second," Sora said in panic. He drew his sword, although the hand holding it was shaking. "You can't unlock my heart... won't I turn into a Heartless?"

"If it means saving Kairi, I couldn't care less."

Sora stared at Riku in disbelief. This was a nightmare. He knew that Riku had started hating him recently, but... destroying his heart? Had they really grown so far apart? He stared desperately at Riku, then ran forward, preparing to strike. It was his only chance. Riku blocked the attack, then swung his Keyblade in a wide arc and sent Sora sprawling to the ground, face-up. Riku lifted his hand and dark restraints appeared, pinning Sora to the ground. Riku approached him, readying the Keyblade.

"Riku..."

"I'm sorry, Sora," Riku said quietly. He lifted the Keyblade over his head, gripping it with both hands. "I actually do wish things could be different. But they're not."

Without another word, Riku plunged the Keyblade deep into Sora's chest.


	11. Betrayal

As his mind dimmed, Sora found himself thinking that it didn't hurt as much as he had expected. The dark Keyblade sank deep into his chest, and with it came a rush of coldness, as if his body was filling with ice water, heavy and dense. He felt himself going numb, drifting out of consciousness. Something bright and warm within him left.

_Kairi..._

Riku's grip on the Keyblade tightened as it sank lower into Sora's chest. He saw Sora's heart drift out of his body, followed by a second, brighter one: Kairi. Riku felt his heart swell, completely forgetting about Sora as he followed Kairi's heart with his eyes. It shined far brighter than any other heart he had ever seen, just as he had thought it would; she was a Princess of Heart, after all. The heart floated gently through the air like a bubble, settling softly in Kairi's chest. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Kairi," Riku whispered.

"Sora," Kairi said weakly.

"No, Kairi... it's me, Riku," he insisted. The Keyblade vanished, and he walked towards her, arms reaching for her gently.

Kairi shook her head, sitting up. Her clear blue eyes widened in alarm, focused on something behind Riku. "Sora!"

Riku turned; he had forgotten about the other boy. Sora's body was fading, disappearing into nothingness; his heart drifted up into the air, darkness eventually overtaking it. It disappeared as well.

"Oh, that," Riku said quietly. Telling Kairi was the part he had been dreading the most. "Kairi, I'm sorry... I didn't want to do it, but I had to."

"No... Sora, no..." Kairi gasped, as if struggling for breath. She ran towards the spot where Sora had been standing only moments before.

"It was the only way to save you!" Riku said desperately, grabbing Kairi's arm. He forced her to face him. "Kairi, please believe me, he didn't care about you. I'm the one who's been trying to save you this whole time. Me!"

Kairi stared at Riku with a mixture of shock, fear, and revulsion. Riku felt frustrated; hadn't he done plenty to prove that he cared about her? Hadn't he shown that he was willing to do so much more for her than Sora was? Why, then, was she so caught up on him? Why did he matter to her?

"Kairi, please believe me," Riku whispered.

"Riku," Kairi began, tears filling her eyes. "You're my friend, but... this is so, so wrong. You've changed, Riku, I've known it since before we left the islands."

"No, I haven't! Sora's the one who-"

"You just _killed_ Sora!" Kairi said desperately, tears rolling down her cheeks. "He was your best friend in the world, and you killed him! Riku... what have you become?"

Riku opened his mouth, but nothing came out; he was speechless, struck dumb by her scalding, piercing words. Kairi stared at him, looking as if she was trying desperately to convey some unknown emotion; then she turned and ran.

"Kairi," Riku whispered hoarsely. "KAIRI!"

But it was no use. She was gone, her footsteps echoing in the distant halls of the empty castle.

Why... WHY? Why was this happening? He would have done anything, _everything_ for her. He had already done so much, and all in her name. Why did she refuse to see it? Could it really be possible that she cared more about _him_ than Riku? Riku felt like he was about to die. He clutched his chest; it was throbbing with excruciating pain. No, no, this couldn't be happening... it was a dream, it was a nightmare, it was... something, _anything_ but reality.

Something was falling apart within him. Kairi was gone; she was gone; she was GONE. He'd given her his life, his world, _everything_, but she had turned it down, faithful to _HIM_ until the bitter end. She would be somewhere in the castle by now, maybe being attacked by Heartless. He wanted to care, to want to make sure that she was still okay, but how could he allow himself to when she had betrayed him like that? His heart was struggling with itself, one side trying desperately to follow her, the other to stay, to sink into despair and emptiness like he so dearly wanted to do. His chest was aching with unbearable pain; he just wanted it to stop.

_What do I do?_ he thought, eyes streaming with hot, bitter tears.

_Let go_, a voice said somewhere within him. The voice didn't belong to him, and yet it sounded familiar. Was it Ansem? How was he speaking directly into him? Did it even matter anymore?

_You gave Kairi everything; Sora all but abandoned you; you have nothing left in this world. Why live on in pain? Give up your heart; make all of the suffering go away._

Surely nothingness would be better than this pain... wouldn't it? Kairi was gone...

_It doesn't even hurt. Lose yourself... it's so much easier..._

He felt himself slipping away; the aching in his chest began to give way to the sweet relief of soothing numbness. He began losing his sense of self, but what did it matter? He had nothing left... nothing at all. This was a pain that he couldn't endure. It was so much easier to fade away...

* * *

Kairi found herself stumbling blindly through the castle corridors. Their islands were gone, Sora was gone, the Riku she knew was gone... what did she have left? She was vaguely aware that she had to keep running; the Heartless were coming for her, she could feel it. Did it matter, though? What did she have left to fight for? There was no reason to keep going.

But Sora wouldn't want that. He hadn't given his life so that she could just give up. Riku too... as much of a monster as he had become, he had done it all for her. She had seen it all from within Sora. So many people had cared about her, fought over her; why was she the cause of so much pain and strife? The guilt of it washed over her, and fresh new tears sprung to her eyes, obscuring her vision even further.

Something grabbed her painfully from behind; she couldn't see what it was, but she couldn't break free no matter how much she struggled. It lifted her from the ground, its grip tightening.

"Look out!" a voice suddenly shouted. There was a slash, and Kairi fell to the floor, released by the unknown entity.

She wiped her eyes, and found herself facing an entire group of people. They looked familiar; they were Sora's friends from Traverse Town.

"Who are you?" a man she recognized demanded suspiciously, pointing his gunblade at her chest.

"Leon, come off it!" Yuffie said sternly, rapping him on the back of the head. "Don't you get it? This must be Kairi!"

"Gawrsh, really? Pleased ta meetcha!" a tall creature said with a wide smile. "I'm Goofy, and this is-"

"Donald, Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith," Kairi said, pointing each person out in turn. "I know. We've never met, but... I know who you all are already. From Sora," she added quietly.

"So Sora_ is_ here?" Donald asked excitedly.

Kairi's face fell, and her eyes began to fill with tears once more. She didn't even bother to stop them this time; they ran down her cheeks, already raw from her past tears.

"He... he's gone."

The air in the room froze over. The entire group looked horrified.

"You mean we were... too late?" Yuffie asked, the shock clearly registering on her face.

"Oh... oh no," Aerith said quietly. She swept forward, embracing Kairi in a gentle hug. "I'm so sorry... that's terrible, terrible news."

"What happened?"

"Leon, don't be so insensitive," Yuffie muttered.

"I'm not, I just want to know what-"

"Riku, he... he unlocked his heart, and Sora turned into a... a..."

"A Heartless," Leon finished quietly. Kairi nodded, choking back a sob. Aerith stroked her hair.

They all stared at each other.

"Well, now what do we do?" Donald asked, crestfallen.

"We have to try to save the other Princesses of Heart," Yuffie said quietly. Her spirit seemed to have left her. "Come on. It's what Sora would have wanted us to do."

* * *

Riku opened his eyes.

He was still there, but something was different. Terribly different. He felt incredibly powerful, but something wasn't quite right. His eyes hurt; when did this room get so bright? He felt a creeping feeling at the pit of his... what? Stomach? No... he didn't seem to have any kind of sensation anywhere but his chest. His heart felt strange; it was burning, throbbing, and yet icy cold at the same time.

"What... happened to me?" Riku asked aloud in an oddly warped voice. He remembered himself losing himself to a pain that was no longer there...

"You've completed the transformation," a familiar voice said. Riku turned to see the hooded man, Ansem, striding towards him, his hood lowered for the first time. He didn't seem to be completely there; he was ghostly and transparent, like smoke in the form of a man. What little physical details Riku could see showed that he was a man with tan skin and long, white hair; his eyes were a piercing gold.

"Transformation?" Riku repeated in that foreign, unearthly voice.

Ansem chuckled darkly. "Have your really not figured it out yet? Just look at yourself; you've become a subject of darkness like myself. Rid of your mortal shackles, you've unearthed more power than you could have possible dreamed of before."

"Then I'm... a Heartless?" Riku asked, revolted, as he stared down at his hands. Upon closer inspection, he could tell that they didn't seem to be made of skin and flesh at all, so much as some concentrated, cloudy, ethereal substance. His skin was black, purple, and red, and had an odd texture, like sinews of muscle, but made of pure darkness. At the center of his chest was the emblem of the Heartless.

"Indeed," Ansem said with a clouded smile. "I feel I must congratulate you on coming so far."

"What do you mean?"

Ansem lifted his hand; his form began to radiate darkness. "I didn't think that you would do so much on your own; I underestimated you. You've done well, Keyblade Master. You have surved your purpose. But now it's over."

"What?" Riku said, suddenly wary. He began to glow with a dark light as well; he felt himself weakening. "Wait... what the hell are you doing to me?" He summoned the dark Keyblade, slashing it through Ansem, but it passed through harmlessly as if through smoke. Was it just him, or was Ansem growing more solid? And was he, Riku, beginning to grow transparent?

"You may be the Keyblade Master, that I can't help," Ansem said quietly. "However, I can at least take your powers for myself. By absorbing your dark energy, I can make the Keyblade mine. I couldn't do it so long as you were a complete human being, but now that you're made of nothing but darkness, it's simple."

"You were planning this all along, weren't you?" Riku asked in horror, icy realization washing over him. "Everything that's happened... it's been caused by you. When you appeared on the islands, you were looking for me. You were trying to bring the Keyblade under your control."

"You played into my plans better than I could have dreamed," Ansem said, chuckling. Riku sank to his knees weakly; the dark Keyblade disappeared from his hand, and reappeared in Ansem's. "Maleficent's manipulation weakened your ties with Sora; it was child's play to make you release Kairi's heart and destroy your only true ally in one instant."

A wave of revulsion and disgust swept through Riku; he felt like he was going to be sick. They had been trying to make him turn against Sora... could it be possible that he had been wrong all along? If that was the case, he had killed his best friend... he had lost Kairi because of it... and all because he was a pawn in this man's twisted games.

"What do you want?" Riku gasped. He was growing more faint; he was little more than smoke now.

"The same thing Maleficent wanted," Ansem said, now almost completely solid. He threw off the brown hooded robe to reveal himself to be wearing a trenchcoat, gloves, and boots. The Heartless emblem glowed brightly in the center of his bare chest. "Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds. Therein must lie the greatest source of power ever conceived. And to unlock that, I need the Keyblade."

Riku opened his mouth to argue, but no sound came out. He was too weak; he couldn't go on. There was nothing of him left. He found himself fading away again, not into the icy numbness of darkness, but simply into nothingness.

_Is this really how it ends?_ he found himself thinking desperately. He began losing his sense of self; who he was, who his friends were, where he was from. His last strands of being disappeared, his energy moving into Ansem, and only one thought remained before everything went black.

_Sora... I'm so sorry._


	12. Rebirth

Two children stood on a beach, facing the entrance to a small tunnel at the base of a huge tree. They were only about five or six years old, and seemed to be arguing about something.

"It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!" one little boy insisted, jabbing his finger at the cave earnestly. The older boy rolled his eyes.

"You sure you didn't just hear it this time?"

The younger boy blushed bright red. "What difference does it make? There's a huge monster in there, I tell you!"

He smirked. "All right. Suppose there really is a monster... think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?"

Sora grinned back. "No problem. Let's do it!"

A strange, echoing howl suddenly came from deep within the cave; it sounded like the sound was coming from the island's core. Sora gasped. "Listen! There! Can you hear it growling?"

The older boy frowned. What if there really was something there? "Shh, quiet. We've gotta be careful." Dropping to his knees, he crawled into the stony tunnel, and the younger boy followed him hesitantly.

The tunnel continued for several yards, but after a while it widened into a decent-sized room. The inside of the cave was wide and covered in stone, with tree roots poking through the ceiling. Overhead, they could see a hole in the ceiling through which the cool sea air was blowing. He rolled his eyes. "See that? It was just the wind making that noise."

Sora kicked at the ground in disappointment. "Aw, man. I wish it was a monster!" He looked up, then gasped. "Hold on! What's that over there?

The older boy turned. There, in the back of the cave, was a large wooden surface with an intricate golden design running around the side of it. He had never seen anything like it before; he approached it and ran his hands over the smooth surface. "A window, or maybe a door? It won't open."

"Geez, is that really all that's in here?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "What do you expect in a boring place like this?" Nothing ever happened on the islands, they both knew that. He wished more than anything that something exciting would happen. An idea suddenly struck him. "Hey, Sora."

"Hm?"

"When we grow up, let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"

Sora nodded noncommittally. "Sure. But isn't there anything fun to do now?" His face suddenly lit up with excitement. "Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house? She arrived on the night of the meteor shower!"

Sora ran off down the tunnel, and the older boy began to follow him. He turned, surveying the cave one last time, then nearly jumped in shock. In the center of the wooden door, there was now a large keyhole, something that certainly hadn't been there before. Riku frowned, mind racing. Where had the keyhole come from? More importantly, where did the door lead?

As if on cue, an idea sparked within him. He didn't know where it had come from; it didn't even seem like his own thought. Regardless, shining radiantly in his heart, he suddenly knew one thing for certain.

**That door leads away from the islands.**

Riku felt excited. There was more to this universe than met the eye, that much was now certain. He'd find out what other worlds lay behind the door if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

Kairi led the group through the castle as well as she could. She wasn't exactly sure which way to go; she had forgotten the castle's layout long since she had lived here as a Princess, but she had a general idea of where to go from when her heart had been inside of Sora. Though her heart was back, she felt cold and empty inside. Sora and Riku were both gone; that cold, cruel realization struck her every few seconds when she least expected it. The only thing keeping her going was a faint glimmer of hope shining from somewhere within her. She would find a way to save them, both of them. She'd figure out how to bring back Sora, and somehow make Riku come to his senses. She had to. As foolish as it seemed, she had to keep telling herself that it was possible. They were all she really had.

"It's sad to see what poor shape this world is in now," Aerith said sadly. "It used to be so beautiful when we lived here."

Leon nodded, taking in the crumbling castle corridors. "Maleficent and the Heartless left it in bad shape. Maybe we can rebuild it once this is all over."

"I think it's somewhere around here," Kairi said quietly, scanning their surroundings as they walked through yet another doorway. They were in a tall chapel; the ceiling was hidden in shadow far above them. This seemed familiar... didn't it?

"Who are you?" a voice called shrilly. On the far side of the room, a group of women were huddled together, staring at them warily.

"I'm Kairi," she said nervously. "I'm the... seventh princess." It sounded strange to hear herself say it; she didn't feel like a princess at all.

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" the woman trilled, her tone improving dramatically. She curtseyed, sweeping her yellow skirt over the stone floor. "My name is Snow White."

One by one, the group introduced themselves. Snow White, Jasmine, Alice, Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora were soon acquainted with Kairi, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Donald, and Goofy.

"It's very nice to meet all of you," Aerith said politely. Kairi supposed that Aerith would have sounded far more cheerful if not for the circumstances of their meeting.

"Do you have any idea of what is going on?" Leon asked, addressing the princesses. They exchanged glances.

"We remember waking up; a man was standing in the room with us, commanding hordes of Heartless," Cinderella said. "We only just managed to escape. It took all of our powers to hold him back."

"As it is, those monsters are still trying to get to us," Alice said, pointing to their right. Kairi was shocked to see a writhing mass of dark shadows and glowing eyes trying to enter the room from a side door. They seemed to be held back by an invisible wall. "It's all we can do to keep them from getting in. Thank goodness you all came!"

"The man you mentioned," Kairi said suddenly. "Did he have short silver hair and a yellow shirt, with-"

"You mean that boy, Riku?" Jasmine asked bitterly. "No. It was someone else. Older, but... far more terrible."

"Oh," Kairi said quietly, spirits falling further. "I see." If Riku wasn't in that room, then... where was he? Had something happened to him?

"Well, we can't just stand around," Yuffie insisted. "We have to do something. Princesses... can't you use your light to cut through darkness somehow?"

"I suppose we can try," Aurora said nervously. "None of us are quite used to our powers yet..."

"Well, try," Leon said, turning to face the ever-growing mass of Heartless pressing against the invisible wall. They looked as if they would break through at any moment. "The only way to deal with this is to go straight to the source. On the count of three, I want you to stop holding them back. We can fight this. Everyone ready?"

"You betcha, Leon!" Goofy said, glaring at the Heartless and lifting his shield. The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"Okay. One... two... _three_!"

There was a flash of light, and the Heartless tumbled forward into the room; the group from Traverse Town leapt forward, attacking the creatures left and right. Flashes of light burst around the room; the other Princesses seemed to be retaliating with their own light-based attacks. Kairi wanted to help, but what was there she could do? Yuffie had mentioned some kind of powers, but she didn't know how to use them. She had to at least try...

Kairi closed her eyes and focused on the light within her heart. It was difficult finding it at first through her fallen spirits; the noise of the battle made it difficult to concentrate as well. Soon enough, however, she located the last spark of hope left in her heart. She thought of Sora, Riku, and herself, back on the islands, playing together as if none of this had ever happened...

There was a brilliant burst of light, and several of the Heartless around Kairi vanished like smoke. She looked down at her hands in surprise; they were glowing faintly. She had done it.

"Good job," Aerith said, smiling encouragingly at Kairi. A scream suddenly erupted from across the room; Belle had received a nasty scratch from a Shadow. Aerith quickly responded with a curing spell, healing her instantly.

"Where are they all coming from?" Donald demanded angrily, sending fireballs flying into the faces of the surrounding Heartless.

"They're thinning out some, but I don't think just fighting them is enough," Leon called over the noise, delivering instruction. "It's like in Traverse Town; we need to find the source."

"That would be this way," Snow White twittered, pointing at the side door. The group began fighting that way instead, slowly making progress into the next room.

"Wait for me," Cinderella called, stooping to retrieve the glass shoe that had fallen off of her foot. Leon slashed through a Heartless that was sneaking up on her.

"Let's be careful," he said with a frown. "Remember, you Princesses are like delacacies to the Heartless. They'd want nothing more than to take your hearts and make you one of them."

"Thanks for keeping our spirits up, Leon," Yuffie said cheerfully, tossing a throwing star at a passing Shadow. Being in battle seemed to have improved her mood somewhat. Kairi felt no different; she wouldn't be content until both Sora and Riku were safe and sound.

* * *

_Riku... Kairi..._

Nothing but darkness. That's all there is.

_No... there's more. Kairi, and... Riku._

Darkness closing in on all sides, bringing sweet relief...

_No... I can't fade away yet. I see a light..._

Sora's eyes blinked open. He was lying on a white winding path, surrounded by nothingness. Where was he? What had happened?

That's right... Riku had destroyed him. To save Kairi.

"So, am I... am I dead?" Sora asked aloud, getting to his feet. This didn't seem like any world he had ever been to. Some afterlife. Something was tugging at his chest; he felt weak and insubstantial. He took a step forward, but he stumbled. His body and heart were weary; they wanted nothing more than to give up and let numbness wash over him.

_No. I... I don't want to fade away. I don't want to disappear..._

He didn't know why, really. Riku had proven that he hated him; he had _killed_ him. Sora should have hated him back for everything he had done. But for some reason, all he wanted to do now was to see Riku and Kairi again. Now that he was here, teetering on the brink of oblivion, so close to disappearing forever, all of their past conflicts seemed so trivial. But how could he get back to them if he was really dead?

_**Sora, can you hear me? I'll be there soon.**_

Sora looked around, shocked. Where was that voice coming from? It seemed to be speaking directly into his heart. It felt... warm.

"Who's there?" Sora demanded, shouting into the echoing darkness. He felt foolish; obviously, there was nobody around to hear him. Yet soon enough, that warm voice was speaking to him once more.

_**Another Keyblade... I've gotten the Keyblade for this side.**_

_**

* * *

**_

The group pushed through a huge set of double doors, protecting themselves from Heartless on either side. The waves of monsters never stopped coming; Kairi had to wonder how much more of this they could withstand. Already, their own attack efforts were growing weaker as the Traverse Town Resistance Force and the Princesses of Heart grew more weary from battle. They needed to reach this source, and fast.

"This is the room," Alice said, pointing. They could see six pods lining the walls; a huge Heartless emblem was embroidered on the rug. "That wicked man should be just ahead."

Leon turned to the Princesses. "Alright, listen. This is it. All seven of you... you need to focus your powers on whoever it is we face ahead. The rest of us can fight him, but we can only do so much."

The other Princesses nodded solemnly. Kairi nodded too; it felt strange to be included in the same group as all of these powerful women. She didn't feel entirely confident in her own abilities, but she at least needed to try.

"You're our only hope. Darkness may hold terrible power, but light will always be stronger. Together you can cut through and weaken it. Believe in yourselves, and we'll be okay."

"A touching speech," a voice suddenly said from above them. A man was standing on a balcony above, looking down at them; a huge mass of Heartless stood behind him. He chuckled, giving a wicked grin. "It's admirable how much faith you put in your hearts, but I don't think you realize what little good those weak things will do for you."

"Who are you?" Leon demanded.

"I am Ansem," the man said simply. He smirked. "It's been a long time, Squall."

Leon's face turned pale. "Wh...what? Ansem the Wise? But you're not... I thought you were..."

"What have you done with Riku?" Kairi demanded, unable to take it any more.

Ansem chuckled. He held out his hand, and a pitch-black Keyblade appeared in his hands. It was different from the red and black one Riku had possessed before; it seemed to be made out of nothing but flowing, dripping, pulsating darkness. "The Keyblade Master is no more. He gave his heart up to the power of darkness, a power which I then took for myself."

"No," Kairi whispered. She felt as if all of the air had been forced from her lungs. The last glimmer of hope in her heart dimmed. Riku was... gone? For good?

"You've arrived just in time," Ansem continued. "When the seven Princesses were united, the Keyhole to this world opened; the path to the Door to Darkness has been revealed. You're lucky enough to have the honor of witnessing me claim it for myself." Behind him, the huge, swirling keyhole was glowing faintly. Electricity no longer crackled across its front; the Keyhole was indeed complete.

"No! We won't let you do this!" Belle shouted furiously, a spirit erupting from her that Kairi would never have suspected she possessed. "You Heartless have already taken our worlds... what else can you strip us of?"

Ansem laughed loudly. "Oh, this is too rich! Belle, is it? I suppose you aren't aware; allow me to enlighten you. While you were napping away in your heartless sleep, the old Keyblade Master did away with your dear enchanted lover. Ironically enough, he came to this world trying to save you." He lifted his hand and summoned a huge, hairy Heartless. It growled from behind deadly, dripping fangs. "A touching story, isn't it? He's a _real_ Beast now. I think you'll find he's not so charming anymore."

Belle turned pale, clutching her chest. "No... Beast..."

"And now, the main event," Ansem declared with triumph. Without further hesitation, he pointed his Keyblade at the Keyhole. The group rushed forward to stop him, but the Beast's Heartless roared, blocking their passage.

A dark beam flew from the tip of the Keyblade, smashing into the Keyhole; the entire thing shattered. Behind the door was a brilliant, pulsating orb of... something. It was giving off an enormous amount of energy. Kairi could feel it tugging at her own heart, and immediately she knew what it was: the Heart of Hollow Bastion. The heart of her home world was calling out to her in distress; it could sense what was coming next.

"All hearts are connected," Ansem said quietly to himself, as the hordes of Heartless suddenly turned and poured into the Heart of the world, beginning to eat away at it. "All hearts are linked, chained to one another. A person's heart is connected to that of its world, and the heart of a world is in turn connected with the greatest heart of them all. Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds, must therefore be there, connected to the darkness within them all..."

The Heartless were pouring in frantically now; even the Beast's Heartless turned and dashed for the door, drawn by the irresistible thirst for more hearts.

Leon nodded at the Princesses, who nodded back. It was time to act, now, while Ansem was distracted, and while they still had the chance. Kairi searched within herself for that spark of light; it was even more difficult to find it now that her hope was gone, but somehow she found it again. She gathered her power within herself. Beside her, Belle seemed to be having quite a lot of trouble concentrating. Kairi squeezed her hand comfortingly; around her, the other Princesses were gathering hands as well. Energy poured throughout them, building upon itself and becoming more concentrated.

"Ready?" Cinderella said quietly.

"Kingdom Hearts, the source of all hearts, and the source of all darkness..."

Kairi felt Riku's heart, connecting to hers from somewhere nearby. The light within her heart flared up within her.

"_NOW_!"

A brilliant, blinding explosion of light erupted from the seven of them, shaking the floors and walls; Heartless all around them vanished, and a painful shout came from in front of them. It was several seconds before the flow of energy died down, but when it did, the sight that met them brought joyful tears to Kairi's eyes.

"_Riku_! You're okay!"

* * *

"What...?" Sora said quietly. Another Keyblade?

_**I've been talking to you all along. I tried to warn you of Riku's descent into darkness. Something was hindering my words; I think it may have been the Heartless.**_

"Well, whoever you are... what's happening to me?" Sora asked aloud.

_**Your heart has overcome the darkness that surrounded you when you became a Heartless**_, the voice explained. **_The light in your heart broke through, and brought you back to life. But you couldn't return to the Realm of Light, not yet. So, you were left behind, here in the dark realm where stolen hearts are gathered._**

Sora soaked all of this in slowly. So, Riku _had_ turned him into a Heartless... but now he was back. He wanted to blame Riku, but somehow he couldn't do it. He was too grateful to be alive. "What should I do?"

_**The Door to Darkness that is soon going to appear... that door, through which we cannot pass... in order to close it, two keys and two hearts are needed. Perhaps you too, like me, come here for this purpose. Maybe it was fate.**_

Sora gave a small smile. Fate? Sora had once believed in destiny, it was true... but now he didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Fate... you sure know a lot, don't you?" There was just one last lingering concern on his mind. "Can you tell me one last thing? Are Riku and Kairi safe?"

_**You should be able to feel their hearts. How you percieve your friends is dependent on your own heart.**_

Sora closed his eyes, concentrating on his heart. Somewhere, inside of him, he could feel his connection with Riku and Kairi's hearts. Kairi was safe; Riku was too. He smiled; that was all he needed to know. He could feel light and hope building within his heart once again.

"Thank you."


	13. The Door to Darkness

Riku clutched his chest painfully. He was lying sprawled on the stone floor; there was a lot of shouting going on. What happened? He had turned into a Heartless, and then Ansem had absorbed him...

"_Riku_! You're okay!"

That voice. Riku sat up immediately.

"K... Kairi," he said breathlessly. She was staring at him with such a look of joy that he thought his heart might melt.

His heart... he had a heart. He was alive again.

Looking around, he was surprised to see nearly a dozen people standing around him. Jasmine and Alice were glaring at him; he supposed he deserved it. Belle probably would have been angry at him too; however, the Beast seemed to have returned to his former self as well, and the two were standing near each other a distance away.

"Kairi, I... I'm so sorry," he said shakily. "Everything I said to you, everything I did, I..."

"Riku... it's okay," Kairi said quietly. Tears were running down her cheeks once more, but this time she was smiling. "You're back, aren't you? You're really Riku... the old Riku, the Riku that was my friend. Aren't you?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling slightly. "I think I am." His smile faded almost immediately. He felt horrible. Everything that had happened was his fault. He had let Ansem manipulate him; he had let his own jealousy eat away at his own soul. Now Sora was gone... and Riku was to blame. "Kairi, I don't know how I could ever... I'm so sorry... Sora..."

Kairi shook her head, though her smile faltered. "We'll find a way to bring him back, don't worry." She sounded like she was having a hard time convincing herself. Riku nodded; he felt more certain.

"You saved me. We'll find a way to save him, too."

"D...Damn you!" a voice suddenly shouted from behind them. Riku turned quickly; Ansem was kneeling on the ground, completely forgotten. He was clutching his side and looked like he was in pain. At the same time, he looked furious. "You fools! You think that's enough to destroy me? Darkness is the only true power!"

"What happened?" Riku said quietly to Kairi, his eyes never leaving Ansem.

"The other Princesses and I," Kairi said quickly, as Ansem got to his feet. "We used all of our powers together to weaken him. I guess that's what released you and brought you back. I felt you near me." She shook her head. "I didn't want to just forget about you, Riku. I couldn't."

"It was your heart that did it, Kairi," Aerith said, standing next to them. The others in the room were preparing for a fight, all of them facing Ansem warily. "Ansem had soaked up the darkness that had taken over Riku's heart. However, you cared enough about him that the light in your heart cut through the darkness in his. Riku was able to return." She smiled at him. "Welcome back, by the way."

"Our hearts are connected," Riku said, remembering what Ansem had said. Something clicked in his mind. "The light from our hearts broke through the darkness. I saw that light. I think that's what saved me. No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within. Right?" he asked, looking at Aerith. She smiled and nodded.

"I felt terrible," Kairi explained in a whisper. "All of those things I said to you when I left..."

Riku smiled. "I deserved them, and you know it. I did a lot of horrible things." He glared at Ansem. "But never again. I'm going to make sure nothing like this happens ever again." He held out his hand and summoned the Keyblade. It wasn't the black and red Keyblade that Ansem had helped him create, but rather the golden and silver key he had first received.

Ansem glared at him. "Don't get too cocky, boy. The Keyblade has served its purpose. The path to the Door to Darkness has been revealed." Behind him, the heart of Hollow Bastion was pulsating, giving off huge amounts of energy; the Heartless hadn't been able to finish it off before the Princesses' attack. "You may have won the battle, but hardly the war. You will rue the day you crossed me."

Ansem turned and ran straight for the heart of the world.

"Stop him!" Leon shouted, a note of panic in his voice as he dashed after the man. They all ran after him, but it was too late. Ansem reached the place where the Keyhole had once been, then held out a gloved hand and touched the glowing heart.

An inky black substance spread from his hand instantly; it seeped over the surface of the heart, corrupting it with darkness. A high-pitched, earsplitting shriek echoed throughout the castle; Riku felt his heart skip a beat from the sound of it. The entire world was crying out in pain. It was being destroyed.

"No," Kairi whispered from beside him. She looked pale, and Riku realized that this must have been especially hard on her. This was her home world; her own heart was connected to it. Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie looked equally pained.

"Hurry, hurry," Yuffie said breathlessly, nearly reaching Ansem. Before she could retaliate, however, she was knocked back by some unknown force; the others fell backwards as well.

The heart was entirely black now; it radiated a sickly purple light. Riku nearly choked as the sickly, smoky scent of darkness filled the room.

"All hearts are connected," Ansem said quietly to himself. Then, without a second glance back at them, Ansem stepped forward, moving into the heart. It accepted him unquestioningly. Darkness enveloped him and obscured him from view. Within seconds, both he and the heart were gone.

"He... he absorbed the heart of the world," Aurora said in disbelief. "How much more powerful must that make him?"

"Damn it!" Leon shouted, throwing his gunblade to the ground with a loud clatter. The floor and walls began to shake. "This world is going to be gone soon enough. It can't exist without a heart!"

"What do we do?" Cinderella said fearfully. The rumbling grew more violent; pieces of stone began to fall from the ceiling. "We'll be destroyed if we stay here!"

"We can't make it back to the Gummi Ship in time," Yuffie said, her face screwed up in desperate concentration. "We have to do _something_!"

Riku was silent. He was thinking desperately. What were they supposed to do? There had to be some way out. Another day and time, Riku would have been able to use his dark powers to move the entire group to safety, but he wasn't exactly keen on opening himself up to darkness once more. Would they die here, crushed by the castle walls?

"What about the way Ansem took?" Kairi said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her. "He left this world somehow, didn't he? Maybe if we followed him, we could find out where he went."

"That's brilliant," Leon said in surprise. They turned to look at the dark void where the Heart of Hollow Bastion once rested. Everything within was black; they couldn't see a thing.

"Ansem said that all hearts are connected," Riku added. "He's looking for Kingdom Hearts... he says that it's the source of all hearts. If all hearts really are connected, then..."

"That must be what he meant when he said that this was the path to the Door to Darkness," Aerith concluded. "The heart of this world should be connected to Kingdom Hearts."

"I can feel a powerful darkness growing somewhere far away," Jasmine said quietly. "It must be where Ansem went."

The group stood in silence, deep in thought. Around them, more and more pieces of the castle were falling apart. They didn't have much more time.

"Well?" Yuffie said. "Are we going in?"

"We don't have much of a choice," Aurora said gravely. There was a crashing noise some distance away; one of the wings of the castle must have collapsed. "If we don't go now, we'll be killed."

Riku took Kairi's hand gently. "We'll go together."

Kairi nodded. "We'll be okay."

Together, they stepped forward into the dark unknown.

* * *

Riku and Kairi emerged in a small cave. One by one the others began to appear, fading gradually into existance. By the time all thirteen of them were there, it was a tight squeeze; the Beast was taking up more room than any of them.

"Where are we?" Riku asked cautiously. They peered out of the cave; they seemed to be floating in a strange, insubstantial sea of purplish darkness. Pieces of rock and earth were scattered throughout, floating motionlessly.

"This is all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless," Cinderella said quietly. "I can sense it. This must be the heart of all darkness."

"If you can destroy it, all should return to its original state," Snow White chimed in. "All of the worlds that were destroyed will be restored. But to do that, you have to stop Ansem."

"You mean... our island will be back?" Kairi asked, eyes widening.

Belle smiled. "You tell us, Kairi. You're a princess too; you should be able to sense the truth."

Kairi blushed, then closed her eyes. After a moment she opened them again.

"Yes. Everyone will be returned to their original worlds. But... they'll also be separated again."

Riku shook his head. "I can't go home until I find Sora. If there's any chance of saving him, I have to take it."

She smiled, nodding. "Me too. Let's go!"

Riku sighed, then shook his head. He had been dreading this moment, but it had to be said. "Kairi... you can't go."

Kairi's face fell. "Why not? I want to save Sora too!"

"It's too dangerous. What if you got hurt?"

"Riku, come on. You can't go alone. Haven't you learned that by now?"

He shook his head, remembering Aerith's words. Light connected their hearts, didn't it? "Even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore. Right?"

Kairi was silent for a moment. Finally, she spoke with reluctance. "I can't help?"

Riku gave a sheepish smile. "Well..."

Kairi sighed, then allowed a small smile. "Okay. You win. But if you're going alone, I want you to have this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small object. It appeared to be made of five Thalassa shells strung together in the shape of a star; a smiling face had been carefully drawn on.

"What's this?" Riku said, holding it in his hand gently. He felt like he was holding a precious treasure.

"It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me!" she said sternly. Riku grinned.

"Don't worry. I will."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Please be careful," Kairi insisted. "You're the only one who can bring back Sora. I believe in you, Riku."

"Thank you."

He stared at Kairi for a moment, searching for the right words to say. After a moment, however, he realized that absolutely everyone in the group had been watching them. Most of them were smiling, or in Yuffie's case, smirking. Riku turned bright red. It was time to change the subject.

"Everyone, before I go... I want to apologize for my actions in the past." He turned to the Princesses. "Especially to all of you. I behaved terribly, and I'm going to do everything in my power to fix things."

Jasmine's arms were still folded, but her harsh expression softened. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, all right. We forgive you."

The Beast snorted. "Just watch your back in my neighborhood."

The group chuckled. Riku smiled; now that he had gotten that off of his chest, there was little holding him back now. The inevitable was coming.

"So, uh... I guess this is it. I'm off to face Ansem. Wish me luck!"

"Wait, you're not _really_ planning on going alone, are you?" Leon said, surprised.

Riku was taken aback. "Well, yeah. Weren't you listening to me when I was talking to Kairi?"

"Obviously, the Princesses can't come," Yuffie said, rolling her eyes. "But I mean, the rest of us can be of some help." Behind her, Alice folded her arms challengingly, but Yuffie took no notice.

"And me and Goofy need to find the King!" Donald insisted.

Riku shook his head. "Thank you... all of you. But this is really something I need to do alone. I've caused you all a lot of trouble." Alice, Jasmine, Belle, and the Beast all nodded. "This is the only way I can think of to pay you all back. Putting you in harm's way just feels wrong."

"But, uh, the King..." Goofy began, scratching his head sheepishly. Obviously he and Donald wanted to come along very badly, but Riku wouldn't allow it. While it was true that he wanted to keep everyone out of harm's way, he also wanted to be able to face Ansem without anyone getting in his way. Riku had a score to settle with him, one that was his alone. Ansem would pay for playing god with Riku's life.

"I'll find the King, don't worry. He told you to find the Keyblade Master, didn't he?" Riku grinned, then summoned the Keyblade in a flash of light. "Well, you found him. Leave it to me." He clutched Kairi's good luck charm tightly, then put it in his pocket for safekeeping.

"Wish me luck, everyone," he added, eyes meeting with Kairi's. He wanted to say so much to her, but it would have to wait. Giving her a small smile, he turned and ran out into the dark void, Keyblade in hand.


	14. The Door to Light

Riku took his first tentative step off of the patch of earth on which the cave was floating. To his surprise, the air supported him well, as if he was simply walking on a flat plain of ground. The only difference was that below his feet, he could see purple swirling clouds of darkness expanding infinitely below him. The sight made his heart leap up into his throat. He took a few steps forward; dark essence splashed around his feet, but overall the path seemed to be safe.

He glanced back; the cave was just another piece of stone floating in the vast smoky abyss. He could see Kairi watching his progress anxiously; when she saw him looking, she waved, and he waved back. He had to admit, he was nervous about facing Ansem; he had never fought him head-on before, but he seemed incredibly powerful. Riku knew from his own experience how deadly the forces of darkness could be. It was almost enough to make him go back and ask for one of them, or maybe _all_ of them, to go with him.

It occurred to him then that he was being almost idiotically calm for someone who was about to fight for the future of the entire universe. A spasm of panic ran through him. Could he even do it? What if he failed? What if he was killed, and the universe was swallowed up by darkness? What if everything - saving Kairi, coming here - was for nothing?

_But don't be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all._

Yes... that was right. That phrase, so long forgotten, resurfaced in his mind. He had heard it in his dream that night, hadn't he? The night before it had all happened.

_So don't forget: You are the one who will open the door._

This was his purpose. He was the Keyblade Master, after all. It was his destiny, and as long as destiny was on his side he wouldn't lose. He _couldn't_ lose... he was the world's last hope.

Holding out his hand, he summoned the Keyblade. Its light gave him some reassurance. Almost instantly, however, Heartless began to appear around him. They were unlike any he had ever seen; tall, muscled beasts with wings and dark swords that floated through the air with ease. He could nearly taste the foul aura they were giving off, not to mention the power they radiated. He was near the heart of all darkness, all right. If he sealed the Door to Darkness, would the Heartless also begin to disappear? If so, then this truly was the only way to fix all of the lives he had ruined. He had done so many horrible things, all in the name of the darkness he had used to fight for Kairi.

But not any more.

He held the Keyblade over his head, preparing for battle. As his position shifted, he felt Kairi's good luck charm move in his pocket. The feeling gave his heart warmth and strength. He would still fight for Kairi - he always would, until his last dying breath. But this time, it wasn't with darkness that he would fight for her, but with the strength of his heart alone. Somehow, against all sense and logic, he knew that it would be enough.

_I_ will _destroy them. For her._

_

* * *

_

Riku fought his way deeper and deeper into the depths of the strange, dark world. While the area he had first visited had been lit by a hazy purple glow, the dark abyss began to grow more sinister the deeper he went. He found himself now standing on a wide, circular platform, the edges of which were jagged like teeth; a plume of purple smoke rose through the center.

"What's this?" he muttered, reaching out to touch the smoke cautiously. His hand disappeared, but was unharmed. Driven by curiosity, he stuck his head through.

To his shock, he found himself surrounded by a familiar town plaza, filled with Heartless. "Is this Traverse Town?"

But how was that possible? He was in the world of darkness, not at all near the small refugee town. Unless...

Was this how the Heartless had been traveling between worlds so easily? It made sense; Riku had been able to travel from place to place using the power of darkness, but the Heartless could only go one by one using that method. The high number of Heartless that had been pouring into worlds recently must have been helped by these gateways.

Riku withdrew his head, then looked around. Outside of the circular platform, he could see many different gateways extending endlessly. He imagined that there must be one gateway for every world whose walls had broken down, opening it to darkness. Many of the gateways had gone out; were those the worlds that had been destroyed? There were so many of them...

Riku shook his head. He couldn't get distracted. This was why he was here... to save the worlds he had helped to destroy. To fix the lives he had ruined. To try to earn some kind of salvation.

More Heartless began to appear around him, and he charged onward.

* * *

Riku broke through the wall, panting. He was exhausted; the number of Heartless was only increasing, and he was finding it more difficult to fight his way through them. He seemed to be safe now, though. He found himself inside a tiny room, with small streams trickling down the walls into natural stone basins. At the far side of the room there was a door.

Riku reached out and touched the handle. Instantly, a voice began speaking to him.

**_Careful. This is the last haven you'll find here. Beyond, there is no light to protect you. But don't be afraid. Your heart is the mightiest weapon of all. Remember, you are the one who will open the door to the light._**

_That's the same voice_, Riku found himself thinking. _The one from my dream._

Did that mean that beyond this door was the true heart of darkness? If so, then Ansem was just ahead. He couldn't turn back now; it was time to end this.

Pulling hard on the handle, he opened the door.

To his immense surprise, he immediately found himself facing a sunny blue sky, white billowing clouds, and a sandy beach that was eerily familiar. Riku stared, shocked.

"This is... my island!"

Memories of his home began to flood his mind. Riku, Sora, and Kairi racing each other on the sand, going swimming, fighting with toy swords, playing in the secret place, catching fish, sitting on the trunk of the Paupu tree, building their raft...

_The door has opened._

Slowly, the illusion began to disappear. Trees faded, cracks appeared in the sand, and the wooden bridges and docks became splintered ruins. It was as if he was witnessing the destruction of his island all over again.

_This world has been connected... tied to the darkness._

The ocean waves turned from their brilliant blue into a deep, dark purple. Soon enough the water disappeared completely; Riku could see nothingness expanding infinitely around them.

_If you embrace the darkness...it will be so._

The words kept springing to his mind of their own accord. That's right. This was all his fault... it was Ansem who had first come to the islands and told Riku about darkness. Riku had to destroy him, if only to repay him for everything that he had gone through.

Ansem was standing at the edge of the beach, looking out into the dark void surrounding the floating chunk of the island. Riku dashed towards him, prepared to attack, but was thrown back by an invisible force.

"Let me through!" Riku shouted. Ansem chuckled, but didn't turn around.

"You sound angry, Riku."

"Damn right I'm angry! You're the one who caused all of this!"

"No, I'm not," Ansem said calmly. He gestured around him. "Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water." He chuckled, then turned to face Riku, a cruel smile on his lips. Riku's grip on the Keyblade tightened involuntarily. "And so you sought to escape from your prison. You sought a way to cross over into other worlds, and you opened your heart to darkness. The Heartless soon followed. It was because of you that all of this happened, not me."

Riku opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. He was bright red; somehow, he couldn't find the words to say, and he knew that Ansem was right.

"I seem to have touched on a sensitive subject," Ansem said quietly. He smirked. "Don't feel bad; it's not _entirely_ your fault that you destroyed your home, your family, and even your best friend in your selfishness. It's perfectly natural. Your heart belongs to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, it consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came."

Ansem suddenly vanished, reappearing behind him; Riku turned quickly to face him.

"You see, darkness is the heart's true essence!" Ansem said fiercely.

"That's not true!" Riku found himself shouting.

"You're one to speak," the man scoffed. He held up his hand; it glowed with dark energy. "You _wanted_ this power, don't deny it. You did everything to gain it. The heart is weak, insubstantial, flimsy... and_yours_ is the primary specimen! Why, you were the one who-"

Riku slashed the Keyblade through the air, cutting Ansem off. He was boiling with rage. He didn't know why... he hadn't earned the right to defend himself after everything he had done. Was it pride, denial? He had done so many horrible things, for which there was no excuse. Blaming it all on darkness would have been so easy, so logical... and yet somehow he knew that it wasn't the truth. No one and nothing was responsible for his actions but himself. Not Ansem, not this darkness, not even his feelings for Kairi. Only himself.

"I know I'm not one to speak," Riku said quietly. "You're right. I wanted that power for myself; I craved it. But that's not who I am."

"Not who you are?" Ansem said, voice dripping with scorn. "Who are you trying to fool? You have shown enormous willpower; you showed no fear in opening yourself up to the darkness. You became darkness itself!"

"I know that," Riku insisted. "I know that my heart was weak. I know that I gave in to my emotions and desires far too easily. But no more." He pulled Kairi's good luck charm from his pocket, squeezing it tenderly. "No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within. It was that light that saved me from this twisted path. I know that now."

He returned the shell charm to his pocket, then held the Keyblade over his head, poised for battle. "I reject your darkness, Ansem!"

Ansem glared at him, then floated a few feet into the air.

"I expected more from you, Riku. I thought you were smarter than that... but apparently I was wrong. It seems that you have come this far and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!"

A huge Heartless suddenly appeared in midair behind Ansem; Riku recoiled as it swiped at him furiously. Riku slashed his Keyblade at Ansem, but the Heartless blocked it and grabbed Riku by the throat. Riku struggled to break free as he was lifted off of the ground, but its grip merely tightened.

"You belong to darkness!" Ansem shouted furiously.

"NO!" Riku shouted back. There was a flash of light, and the Heartless released him as if burned. Riku landed clumsily on the sandy ground, but recovered quickly and slashed at Ansem's chest. Ansem hissed in pain and fury.

"Why do you deny it?"

"Because that's not who I am!" Riku shouted, dodging another blow. The Heartless made to block his next attack, but Riku swung the Keyblade in a wide arc and brought it smashing down on the side of the Heartless' arm. A dark gash appeared where the Keyblade struck, and the Heartless recoiled in pain.

Ansem glared at him, breathing heavily. "Fine. Deny it all you wish. But I have seen what is truly within your heart. I will show you how dark and twisted it has become!"

He lifted his hand; the ground began to shake. Slowly, the huge tree at the center of their island began to split in two. It opened wide, revealing a tattered, torn cavity at the center. Riku realized that that must have been where the heart of Destiny Islands once rested. Now that it was gone, there was nothing left but a dark, hollow space. Was that really how Riku's heart looked? He shook his head stubbornly; there was a light there, he knew it. His feelings for Kairi were proof enough that his heart wasn't all dark.

Ansem drifted backwards, floating effortlessly, and Riku charged after him, ready for the final battle. As soon as he stepped into the space where the heart of the world once was, darkness suddenly enveloped them both.

* * *

Riku found himself floating in the middle of dark nothingness. What had happened? They had gone into the place where the heart of Destiny Islands had once rested; perhaps it had brought them here. But where was here?

Ansem's voice spoke out, echoing in the emptiness. "Behold the endless abyss! Within lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!"

For the first time, Riku saw it, and the sight took his breath away. A huge white door, more colossal than anything he had ever seen before, stood towering on a patch of land in the middle of the void. His blood ran cold. Kingdom Hearts. The Door to Darkness. Could that truly be the heart of all worlds, and the heart of all darkness? What was behind it?

"Look as hard as you are able," Ansem continued smugly. "You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours."

Riku turned to face Ansem, but was shocked to see that his Heartless guardian had somehow evolved. Now, it was gigantic and monstrous, nearly as big as a world itself. Realization struck Riku painfully. All of the worlds that he and the Heartless had destroyed... this was what had happened to their hearts. They had somehow woven together to form an entire Heartless world, a World of Chaos. Dark sinews had attached themselves to Ansem's body, connecting him to it and making him one with the enormous Heartless in deadly symbiosis. Ansem glared at Riku with triumph.

"Darkness conquers all worlds!"

Riku clenched his Keyblade, prepared to fight, but he suddenly found himself unable to stand. With no ground to support him, he began to plummet down into the dark abyss. He began to panic, shutting his eyes in desperate concentration; was this really how it was going to end?

_**Come on, Riku! Don't tell me you're giving up already!**_

Riku's eyes snapped open. Sora. He had heard him. Sora was somewhere nearby. That single thought filled his heart with so much hope and light that he felt uplifted.

No, wait. He was really being uplifted. Was he... flying?

Riku soared up to face Ansem, swinging the Keyblade through the air.

"This ends here, Ansem!"

Ansem chuckled darkly. "I agree." He lifted his hands in the air and dark energy began to form. The smoky air around him seemed to be concentrating into a pulsating, radiating orb of darkness that crackled with energy. It looked just like the one that had destroyed their island.

Riku closed his eyes, then pulled Kairi's lucky charm out of his pocket, focusing every fiber of his being onto it. Sora, Kairi, and everyone else... they were all counting on him. He wouldn't let them down. The charm began to glow faintly of its own accord. He _couldn't_ let them down. This was his salvation and his destiny.

"Why do you fear the darkness?" Ansem insisted. "You could have so much power if you simply gave in! Release your heart; help me open the Door to Darkness. You remember when you were a Heartless; do you not remember the power you held?"

"I remember, Ansem," Riku said quietly. Both the Keyblade and Kairi's charm were glowing brightly now. "That power is great. I've felt it myself."

He swung the Keyblade around, pointing it straight at the orb of dark energy hovering over Ansem. Ansem glared at him suspiciously.

"But I can't go back to the darkness, and I can't let you open that door. I have a promise to keep."

A torrent of light suddenly shot out of the end of the Keyblade, amplified ten-fold by the effect that Kairi's charm had on the light in Riku's heart. The beam pierced the dark orb; there was an ear-splitting explosion of sound, and light filled the dark void. Both Ansem and the Heartless screamed; strips of the dark creature tore away forcefully, burning off in the light. Its unearthly scream echoed in the abyss, and soon there was nothing left of it, its connection to Ansem ripped away.

Both Riku and Ansem were breathing heavily, floating in the darkness; they were all alone now.

Ansem was clutching his side in pain, but smirked. "Very well. I see that there is no use in trying to beat sense into you. But you should know that your efforts are futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the Door to Darkness!"

Ansem stretched out his hand, reaching for the huge white door commandingly. With a booming sound, it cracked open. Riku instinctively moved to stop him, but couldn't get any closer.

"Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness!" Dark wisps of smoke began to seep from the edges of the door, trailing towards Ansem. "Supreme darkness..."

Riku shook his head. Ansem was wrong, and he knew it. Hearts might contain darkness - Riku knew that better than anyone - but that wasn't what they were truly made of. His journeys had told him that much. No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within... he knew that now. He was the prime example. Kairi had shown him that.

"You're wrong, Ansem. I know now, without a doubt... Kingdom Hearts is light!"

The door burst open, and the dark smoke was cut through with a piercing beam of brilliant light, more magnificent and warming than any Riku had ever seen before. Ansem, who had been floating directly in front of the door, was bathed in its light. He stared into it with shock.

"Wha... light? But why..."

There was a loud, brilliant explosion of light, and Ansem faded away, completely disintegrated. Riku's heart was beating fast; he could barely believe it. It was over. Ansem was gone. He had _done_ it. There was only one thing left to do.

Riku landed on the patch of ground, then ran to the door. It was even more monumental up close. He pushed against the door with all of his might. He had to close it, and fast, before the Heartless began to move through the door. Already, Riku could see gigantic Heartless beginning to rise up from within the door. He strained forward, but the colossal door seemed barely to budge. Maybe bringing the others would have been a good idea after all. A faint spasm of panic ran through him; what if he couldn't close the door?

"I can't..." he said weakly, now sweating from the effort.

"Riku, don't give up!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted. Riku looked up in disbelief, but sure enough he saw Sora staring back at him from the other side of the door.

"S...Sora! You're alive!"

"Come on, Riku! Push! Together we can do it!"

Riku stared at the fourteen-year-old boy tugging at the edge of the white door. The boy he had grown up with, played with, dreamed with. Riku's expression turned to horror as he realized what this meant.

"But if I do that, you'll be..."

"Riku, _hurry_!" Sora urged. "The Heartless are coming!"

Riku found himself at a loss for words, but began to push nonetheless. From his view into Kingdom Hearts, he could see several of the huge Heartless disappearing. Suddenly a small silhouette appeared, holding aloft an inverted-colored Keyblade. Somehow, Riku felt like he knew him.

"You're... the King?" Riku asked aloud, not knowing how he knew.

"Yes," the mouse called out. "Now, Riku! Let's close this door for good!"

"Close it, quick!" Sora insisted, straining against the door, but Riku didn't obey. How could the King ask him to close the door with himself and Sora still trapped within? There was so much that he wanted to say to Sora... he had fought so hard to get back to him...

"Don't worry," the King said with a smile. "There will always be a door to the light."

Sora nodded. He looked like he was trying to be brave, but Riku could see the sadness beneath the smile. "You can trust him. It's okay... we'll find each other again. Then all three of us can go home together."

Riku hesitated, feeling his heart torn between the two decisions. Finally, he gave in. "Okay." He pushed all of his weight against the door, and Sora began to pull from the other side. Slowly, the door began to close.

Moments before the door shut completely, Sora turned to look at Riku. Tears began to fill his eyes, but he smiled. "Riku, take care of her."

Riku nodded; he had to try hard to stop himself from tearing up as well. This was it. With a final, mighty shove, the door closed with an echoing boom.

It was time. Riku jumped back, then raised the Keyblade into the air. The tip shot out a beam of brilliant light; on the other side of the door, he was sure that the King's Keyblade was doing the same. As it sealed, Kingdom Hearts began to glow brightly, then slowly it faded away, the huge white door disintegrating into nothingness. Soon there was nothing there.

Riku felt his heart stop. He had done it. The universe was safe. Everything would go back to the way it was.

Except... for Sora.

Riku stared for several moments at the place where the door had once been, an inexplicable sadness filling him.

_Don't worry. There will always be a door to the light._

That's right. If there was a way to save Sora, he had to take it. Riku would do anything he could to find Sora again. Riku owed him that much after everything he had put Sora through. Going back to the islands would have to wait.

There was a faint rumbling sound. Turning, Riku scanned the area for the cause of the noise, and his eyes fell on Kairi. She was standing a good distance away; she looked confused as to how she had gotten there.

"K...Kairi!" he shouted, running towards her.

"Riku!" she said. A tremor shook the ground; Kairi fell forward, and Riku caught her arm. Sand was forming around Kairi's feet, and Riku immediately realized what was happening: the worlds were returning to their original states. The Destiny Islands were returning, and they were taking Kairi with them.

"Kairi," Riku said urgently, as she began to drift away from him. He only had a moment, he knew, and he needed to make it count. "I have to find Sora, I'm sorry. But don't forget, I'll never really be gone. Our hearts are connected, so I'm always with you. I'll come back to you, I promise!"

The patch of sand Kairi was standing on pulled further away, and soon Riku and Kairi were barely able to hold on to one another. They met each other's eyes, and a million unspoken things passed between them. Finally, Kairi smiled.

"I know you will!"

Unable to hold on any longer, Kairi's hold on his hand broke. She reached out to him as she drifted further away; though she knew that it wasn't really any use, it made her feel better to be reaching towards him. She was barely aware that more and more sand was attaching itself to the space around her; slowly, the beach of their island was forming, but Kairi's eyes were locked on Riku. Her heart ached. So much had happened between them... she didn't know what she thought any more. Riku, Sora, and Kairi... would things ever be the same between them? Even if she returned to the islands... it wouldn't be home without them.

Her thoughts were distracted as a glowing speck of light drifted down into her closed hands. Startled, she looked up, and saw with wonder that thousands of them were cascading down like some kind of enchanted snowfall. She held out her hands, astounded, trying to touch them; as the glowing snowflakes touched the ground, the plants of the island sprouted magically to life, bursting into existence around her. With a faint whisper, the ocean waves rushed up to meet her as well, filling in the waterless beach. In the distance, she could see Riku shouting something to her, but she was too far away to hear. She watched as he became obscured in the glow of Kingdom Hearts; soon he was nothing but a part of the shining aura on the horizon, far across the ocean.

Thousands of shooting starts suddenly burst from the aura, flying into the heavens and embedding themselves into the inky black sky; the worlds were all returning, coming back to life just like their island. Kairi watched the millions of stars dot the sky in hushed awe; they were beautiful. The sight made her feel happy, knowing that with every restored world there were people returning to life as well. That was including here... soon all of their friends and families would be returning, waking in the morning as if nothing had ever happened. To them, their world had never been destroyed, and tomorrow was just another day.

But not for her. Her _true_ family would be gone for quite some time.

* * *

The next day, Kairi found herself on their island, alone, exploring its depths and thinking deeply about Sora and Riku. She couldn't explain to anyone where the two boys had gone, only saying that they were someplace far away, but that they would be back eventually. She knew that it was true... but it still hurt to wonder how long that would be.

She walked through the Secret Place, its walls filled with memories. How many lazy afternoons had they spent playing here, dreaming of new worlds and new adventures? Had their real adventures been worth it? She smiled as she looked over some of Sora and Riku's doodles; in one, the two boys were facing off against a huge monster while protecting Kairi. It made her laugh; they had both always been so protective of her. They still were...

Her eyes fell on another drawing. It was one that Sora and Kairi had drawn together, when they had been so much younger. They had drawn each other, although Sora's picture of Kairi was a lot messier than Kairi's picture of Sora. Something about the childhood portraits had changed, however.

A hand had been drawn on to the picture of Sora, reaching out to Kairi. Crudely drawn in his hand was a star shaped object, and with a rush of tears Kairi realized what it was. A Paupu fruit. The fruit that was supposed to bind two people's destinies together forever. Sora had wanted to give one to her, and from the look of it this addition couldn't be more than a day or two old. What did this mean?

Tears poured down her cheeks. She lifted her hand to the stone wall, touching the drawing tenderly. She cared about Sora so dearly, but... so much had happened lately. She felt so confused. What was she to do? Nearby, she could see the small stone that had been used to make the paupu fruit drawing, as well as all of the other drawings in the cave.

She did not pick it up.


	15. Epilogue

Riku walked slowly along a winding road. He wasn't exactly sure how he had gotten here, but he wasn't complaining. He had no idea where to start looking for Sora, so here was as good a place to start as any. Around him, grassy green hills and the occasional tree stretched out for miles. Part of him wished that he had some kind of company, but for the most part he was content. He was happiest either alone, or with Sora and Kairi.

"So, I've got to go find Sora and King Mickey," he muttered to himself. "But how the hell am I supposed to find the door to the light?" He thought for a moment, then sighed. He had nothing.

He suddenly noticed movement on his right. Instincts reacting quickly, he summoned his Keyblade in a flash and held it aloft. The intruder, however, turned out to only be a harmless-looking orange dog. Riku relaxed.

"What are you doing here, boy?" Riku asked aloud. It was stupid, of course, to be asking a dog a question, but he needed to remember that not every world was the same. What if this dog could talk?

The dog merely wagged its tail, and Riku chuckled. "No use asking, huh?" What was it doing here, he wondered? He suddenly spotted something in the dog's mouth.

It was an envelope bearing a seal with three circles on it. It was identical to the keychain on his Keyblade.

_That's... the king's seal!_

"Hey, have you seen King Mickey?" Riku asked, growing excited. If he found the King, Sora would probably be with him. He finally had a lead.

The dog merely wagged its tail, then bounded off down the path. Was he leading the way?

Riku took off running after him. He didn't know where this road might lead, or even whether it would take him to Sora and the King at all. Only one thing was certain: he would follow this path wherever it lead. He'd never give up on Sora and Kairi...he owed them that much. He would never abandon what was most important to him ever again.

_**Remember, Riku. You are the one who will open the door to the light.**_

The End.

* * *

((That's it! I hope you all liked my story. Please, PLEASE R it lets me know that people are reading, and it lets me know how I can improve my writing in the future. Any comments, be they constructive or critical, are deeply appreciated. Feedback gives me the motivation to keep writing, folks. Seriously.

I also think that I'm going to be continuing the series with Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts 2, playing out the events that might have occurred if Riku had gotten possession of the Keyblade. Like a butterfly flapping its wings in Tibet (or whatever), one small change can alter a course of events completely, so while the story of Kingdom Hearts 1 has been (somewhat) faithful to the original, it will only get more different from here on out. Let me know what you all think, and keep an eye out for Kingdom Hearts: Reversed Memories! Thanks again, and be sure to comment!))


	16. Postscript

(( **IMPORTANT UPDATE!**

It's official: I haven't abandoned Riku and the gang after all! _**Kingdom Hearts: Reversed Memories**_ is now underway, and the first couple of chapters are being uploaded as I type these words. If you thought that Kingdom Hearts: Reversed was an intriguing journey into alternate history, you haven't seen anything yet. Nothing will be spared this time -- not even the sanctity of Riku's memories. Go to my profile and check it out! ))


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